Viktor Orbán is heading to Georgia after congratulating the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party for its “overwhelming victory” in parliamentary elections despite widespread concerns about intimidation and coercion of voters,
The Guardian reports.
Hungary’s prime minister will lead a delegation of his senior ministers to meet Georgia’s prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, in a two-day visit that is likely to anger fellow EU leaders at a time when Hungary holds the rotating EU presidency.
Orbán “does not represent the European Union” on his visit, the bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, told Spanish public radio on Monday. “The union’s rotating president has no authority in foreign policy,” he added.
In a statement released on Sunday, co-signed with the European Commission, Borrell flagged concerns about reported pressure and intimidation of voters during Saturday’s elections. “We call on the central election commission of Georgia and other relevant authorities to fulfil their duty to swiftly, transparently and independently investigate and adjudicate electoral irregularities and allegations thereof.”
The governments of Hungary and Georgia have drawn closer in recent years, with both focusing their policies on conservative “Christian” values and calling for “peace” in Ukraine while avoiding any condemnation of Russia.
The Hungarian leader arrives in Tbilisi as the opposition holds a protest rally on Monday evening over the election results, which dealt a blow to Georgia’s EU membership hopes. Georgia’s pro-EU president, Salome Zourabichvili, has said she does not recognise the results and that her country had fallen victim to a “Russian special operation”.
