Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has confirmed that the Georgian Dream government does not intend to invite the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) observation mission for the October 4 local elections.
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Kobakhidze stated that "standard practice" for local elections is not to invite OSCE/ODIHR. He explained that in other countries, this only happens in "exceptional cases."
"There have been deviations. We also had such a deviation, for example, in 2021, given that these elections were somehow connected to the parliamentary elections.
We believe that in this case, it would be an unnecessary burden on OSCE/ODIHR to observe our local elections. The local elections will be conducted properly.
You know that OSCE/ODIHR observed the parliamentary elections and issued an appropriate conclusion, but no one was interested in this conclusion, and today, the same people who completely ignored the OSCE/ODIHR conclusion are asking us to invite OSCE/ODIHR," Kobakhidze said.
Since 2006, OSCE/ODIHR has observed local elections in Georgia four times: in 2006, 2010, 2017, and 2021. Besides Georgia, from 1997 to 2024, OSCE/ODIHR has also sent observation missions to 34 local elections in 13 other countries that did not coincide with other types of voting.
The British Embassy urged the Georgian Dream government to invite an OSCE/ODIHR international observation mission.
“We encourage the Georgian Government to extend an invitation to ODIHR/OSCE to observe October’s municipal elections and take forward all recommendations in ODIHR’s final report on the 2024 parliamentary election," the British Embassy said in a statement released on June 18.
Local elections in Georgia are scheduled for October 4, 2025. The Coalition for Change and the United National Movement are boycotting the local elections without new parliamentary elections. The Gakharia for Georgia party plans to participate in the local elections. Lelo - For Strong Georgia has not yet made a final decision, but according to party leader Mamuka Khazaradze, "the liberation and de-occupation of the country from Russian rule must begin in Tbilisi" and "we cannot surrender this victory without a fight - it would be a great unforgivable mistake."
