Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban flew to Tbilisi on Monday to congratulate the Russia-aligned ruling party, Georgian Dream, as tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest what the opposition called an unfair election over the weekend.

In a report released Sunday, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe also cited a widespread campaign of voter intimidation. On Tuesday, the government announced a partial recount of votes.

With Hungary holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, the governments of some member states were concerned that Orban's visit could be perceived as the official EU stance at a time when President Salome Zourabichvili has called on international allies "to protect Georgia by standing with the people, not an illegitimate government," as she wrote Monday on Twitter.

EU officials have called for investigations into reports of irregularities in Saturday's election, and several member states have formally distanced themselves from Orban's visit. 

'Authoritarian, anti-democratic, pro-Russian' 

On his visit, Orban made common cause with GD, which has insinuated that joining the European Union would require Georgia to enter the Russia-Ukraine war.

"One thing is clear about this weekend's elections: the people of Georgia voted for peace and prosperity in free and democratic elections," Orban wrote Tuesday on X. 

In GD and its leaders, Orban may also see fellow champions of national conservatism in greater Europe.

"Viktor Orban is clear that he wants more authoritarian, anti-democratic, pro-Russian actors in the European political sphere," said Julien Hoez, the editor of The French Dispatch and a geopolitical consultant. 

Teona Lavrelashvili, who specializes in EU affairs as a visiting fellow at the Wiilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, told DW that Orban's visit to Georgia is a direct challenge to EU foreign policy, and also sends mixed signals, much as his visit to Moscow had at the start of Hungary's Council presidency in July. 

"Although Orban doesn't officially represent the EU, his endorsement of the elections risks legitimizing the process, which the Georgian ruling party will likely use to resist calls for new elections or an independent investigation,'' Lavrelashvili said. "They can cite Hungary, an EU member state, as a supporter of the elections." 

 

The EU's stance 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged a swift, transparent and independent investigation into irregularities and said the people of Georgia had a "right to know what happened.'' But it remains unclear how the European Union would be able to compel the government of a nonmember to look into election irregularities, as well as whether officials would undertake an investigation that might ultimately incriminate themselves. 

Hoez said he believed that the European Union might draft a unified condemnation at an upcoming meeting. "There's an informal council on 8 November in Budapest that may lead to something, and a foreign affairs council on 18 November, that will likely build on it,'' Hoez said. "The EU can launch targeted sanctions on the actors related to this egregious electoral fraud."

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EU officials may opt to await a response from Georgia's government and final recommendations from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. 

"At this stage, this cautious approach doesn't necessarily imply that the EU does not recognize the election outcome, but it reflects a need for further clarification on the reported irregularities,'' Lavrelashvili said.

"The EU is waiting on two key indicators: first, the final recommendations from the OSCE electoral mission, and second, the ruling party’s response— specifically, whether it will acknowledge and act upon the calls from the EU," she said. "At this stage, the EU is more likely to apply diplomatic pressure than to impose sanctions."

Edited by: M. Gagnon