Ruling party Sec Gen on British Embassy's statement: when parliamentary elections are held in Georgia, international organisations will be invited - no need for this today

Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday said international monitoring organisations would be invited and represented during parliamentary elections but there was no need for this ahead of local elections.

Kaladze’s response followed the statement of the United Kingdom Embassy in the country, calling on the ruling Georgian Dream party to invite an OSCE/ODIHR observation mission to the 2025 local elections.

In his remarks, Kaladze recalled the campaign to discredit the OSCE/ODIHR conclusion on the parliamentary elections held in Georgia, which had been going on for months, and some European Union countries and high-ranking officials were also involved in it.

“The Prime Minister made an explanation and I would like to repeat once again that this is an incredible attitude. First, based on the fact that the parliamentary elections were observed by the OSCE/ODIHR, they presented a relevant conclusion regarding the elections and we remember that a deliberate campaign was underway for months regarding this conclusion. We remember how they mentioned the OSCE/ODIHR and dismissed it as nothing, which continues today. In fact, their conclusion was trampled, there was a lot of slander and insults, [...] in which not only part of the Georgian media was involved, but also some European Union countries, high-ranking officials, and we remember what statements they made. These are the facts", Kaladze said.

He further added that the statement of the United Kingdom Embassy was incomprehensible in light of all of these.

Kaladze stressed that everyone should understand that the Georgian people provided legitimacy and decided who should be in power, who should be entrusted with the fate of the country, and the same decision would be made by the Georgian people in the local elections scheduled for October

“When there are parliamentary elections, of course, as during all elections, international organisations will be invited and represented. There is no problem with that”, he concluded.