Maria Telalian, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), announced that the organization will not be able to deploy an election observation mission to Georgia due to the country’s late invitation, issued just weeks before the vote.
“Transparent and credible election observation requires thorough preparation and access to all key stages of the electoral process in line with our comprehensive methodology. Unfortunately, the decision by the Georgian authorities to invite us at such a late stage makes effective observation impossible,” Telalian stated.
She emphasized that ODIHR had repeatedly underlined the importance of timely invitations during its contacts with Georgian authorities. Despite this, the late request left no room for credible and comprehensive observation.
While ODIHR will not observe the elections, the office reaffirmed its commitment to monitoring developments in Georgia in areas such as democratic governance, human rights, and the rule of law, and expressed hope for continued cooperation with Georgian institutions and civil society.
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