Amid EU censure, Orbán plans Georgia visit to celebrate contested vote

TBILISI, Georgia — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will visit Georgia on Monday and meet with the country’s prime minister, lending legitimacy to a government that faces allegations of vote-rigging following an election on Saturday.

Brussels on Sunday warned of serious irregularities in the nationwide vote, which saw the governing Georgian Dream party attack Western influence and threaten to ban rival parties. Hours earlier, Tbilisi had announced the Hungarian prime minister would be kicking off a two-day visit to Georgia on Monday.

In a statement issued Sunday evening, the bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said the weekend’s Georgian election was defined by “an uneven level playing field, a divisive campaign in polarised atmosphere and significant concerns over the impact of recent legislative amendments on this election process,” in addition to claims of intimidation and procedural irregularities.

Orbán was ahead of the game, though, congratulating Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and the Georgian Dream party on their “overwhelming victory” on Saturday — before the election results had even been published.

“The people of Georgia know what is best for their country, and made their voice heard today!” Orbán wrote on X.

A senior Hungarian official confirmed to POLITICO late on Sunday that the trip would go ahead, and Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs posted on X that the “official visit” was organized at Georgia’s request. Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, Economy Minister Márton Nagy and Finance Minister Mihály Varga will accompany Orbán.

The visit will again highlight the stark differences in foreign policy between Orbán’s Hungary, which holds the rotating six-month presidency of the Council of the EU, and others around the bloc.

Orbán sparked outrage from EU leaders over the summer with a series of “peace visits” to Ukraine, Russia and China, during which he shook hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Granted anonymity to speak frankly, a senior EU diplomat said Orbán’s trip to Georgia should be understood only as “another solo effort by Orbán, who is traveling in a national capacity and, as the Council presidency, expressly does not speak for the European Union to the outside world.”

The diplomat added: “If Orbán were to claim the European hat for himself during the trip, this would be imposture and a brazen cock-and-bull story.”

Kobakhidze has rejected claims from opposition parties, observer organizations and Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili that the vote was not conducted fairly.

Zourabichvili has called on Georgians to take to the streets in protest on Monday, the same day as Orbán’s visit.

Dato Parulava contributed to this reported from Tbilisi. Hans von der Burchard reported from Berlin.