Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in Tbilisi Monday on a visit to show his support for Georgia’s ruling party after disputed weekend elections amid widespread claims of vote rigging.
The prime minister of Hungary, current holder of the European Union’s rotating presidency, flew into Tbilisi airport Monday evening, Georgia’s independent Pirveli TV station reported.
Orban is making a two-day visit after the ruling Georgian Dream party beat a union of pro-Western opposition alliances in parliamentary polls according to a near-complete vote count.
The opposition, Washington, Brussels and Georgian election monitors have expressed concerns over vote rigging and opposition demonstrators were gathering in Tbilisi Monday evening.
The EU’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said earlier Monday that Orban “does not represent” the European Union on his visit.
Orban tweeted that he had arrived on an “official visit”, adding a defiant message to critics of Georgia’s government.
“Georgia is a conservative, Christian and pro-Europe state. Instead of useless lecturing, they need our support on their European path,” he wrote.
Georgian Dream has been accused by the opposition and political observers of democratic backsliding and pivoting towards Moscow, setting back Georgia’s bid to join the European Union.
Orban, the EU leader widely seen as closest to Moscow, had rushed to congratulate Georgian Dream party on Saturday on an “overwhelming victory”.
At the time, an exit poll had predicted the party would win but another exit poll issued at the same time showed the pro-Western opposition union was ahead.
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