Ruling party official reaffirms Gov’t’s commitment to transparent elections by inviting OSCE/ODIHR mission

Levan Machavariani, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party and Deputy Chair of the parliamentary faction of the ruling party, on Sunday reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to transparent elections by inviting the OSCE/ODIHR mission to observe the upcoming local self-government elections scheduled for October 4, despite what he described as unfair criticism from European officials regarding the organisation’s previous assessments.

In his remarks, Machavariani recalled that prior to last year’s parliamentary elections, European officials had cited the OSCE/ODIHR’s conclusions as the definitive benchmark for evaluating the electoral process.

“The European bureaucrats who today do not rely on the OSCE/ODIHR’s conclusions were declaring before the [2024] elections that the OSCE/ODIHR’s conclusions would be their final reference point for assessing the elections. The OSCE/ODIHR’s final report emphasised that the elections were competitive, that Georgia has an elected Government, that the Central Election Commission administered the process at a very high level, and that all electoral subjects had the opportunity to freely conduct their election campaigns”, Machavariani said.

He further criticised a significant number of European bureaucrats for dismissing these findings and making “shameful comments” from the European Parliament, questioning the integrity of the OSCE/ODIHR, widely regarded as the most authoritative election observation mission.

“Despite this, a significant number of European bureaucrats rejected these conclusions, and many made shameful comments from the European Parliament, as if the OSCE/ODIHR is a corrupt institution, when it is the most authoritative observation mission. Ultimately, the Georgian Dream has had to defend the OSCE/ODIHR’s reputation over the past 10-11 months”, he noted.

The official emphasised that, despite this backlash, the ruling Georgian Dream party proactively invited the OSCE/ODIHR to monitor the upcoming local elections to eliminate any room for speculation about the electoral process.

“Despite all this, we took this step and, to avoid leaving any room for speculation, we still invited the OSCE/ODIHR to observe these elections”, he concluded.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Saturday emphasised his Government’s commitment to transparency by inviting the OSCE/ODIHR mission to observe the upcoming local self-government elections scheduled for October 4, while expressing scepticism about the radical opposition’s willingness to reciprocate such openness.