Georgian Parliament official criticises OSCE/ODIHR for “misdirected” call on election observers

Levan Makhashvili, the Chair of the Committee on European Integration of the Georgian Parliament, on Tuesday criticised the OSCE/ODIHR statement on Georgia, saying the organisation was addressing the wrong party when calling on the Georgian Government to invite the body’s mission for the upcoming local elections.

In his remarks, Makhashvili noted that it would be more appropriate for OSCE/ODIHR to urge the European Union to respect the organisation’s own conclusions.

OSCE/ODIHR has recently issued a statement regarding Georgia, noting that the Georgian authorities do not intend to invite the office to observe the local elections, which represents an exception to Georgia's practice over the last twenty years.

“First and foremost, they should address those forces that directly tore up and threw into the political garbage bin the OSCE/ODIHR's conclusion on the parliamentary elections”, the Parliament official said.

“On the contrary, the Georgian Government, which for the past eight months has been begging and calling on all OSCE/ODIHR members to respect the OSCE/ODIHR conclusion. For this to be a real, practical, and effective process, and not just a circus, it's not only the Georgian Government, but specifically the European Union and OSCE member states, who should respect the OSCE/ODIHR conclusion. So far, what we have heard over the past eight months, including from the European Union, is a complete disregard for the OSCE/ODIHR conclusion. Therefore, I think they have the wrong address. First and foremost, they should address the European Union and those for whom the OSCE/ODIHR conclusion should be important”, Makhashvili concluded.