OSCE PA President: Important that no one from outside says whether Government legitimate or not - it would harm country's sovereignty if someone from outside were to determine legitimacy for us

Pia Kauma, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, on Tuesday stressed the significance of national sovereignty, asserting that external forces should not determine the legitimacy of a Government.

In her interview with Radio Liberty, Kauma reflected on the implications of external assessments on Government legitimacy, drawing parallels to her own country, Finland.

“But applying this to Finland, I think it is very important that no one from the outside says whether a government is legitimate or not. This would harm a country’s sovereignty if legitimacy were determined externally”, Kauma said.

Responding to a hypothetical scenario about the OSCE/ODIHR publishing a report on Finland’s elections like the one in Georgia’s case and if she would have any questions about the legitimacy of her Government, Kauma shared her perspective on the external assessments of democratic governance.

“I have thought about this. In my opinion, the first thing to acknowledge is that no one is perfect - every country has areas that need improvement. [...] It is very important that no one from the outside says whether a Government is legitimate or not. It would harm the sovereignty of the country if someone from the outside were to determine our legitimacy”, Kauma concluded.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday highlighted the impact of “liberal fascism” in the country in his comments over the postponement of a planned visit to the country by Pia Kauma.

Kobakhidze’s comments followed after Kauma on Monday said “I look forward to identifying a more suitable time to visit Georgia, when conditions will better enable constructive engagement”.