Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has welcomed recent remarks by OSCE Secretary General Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu affirming that Georgia’s parliamentary elections reflected the will of the people, calling it a definitive response to what he described as efforts to discredit the country’s democratic process.
“The Secretary General’s statement has put an end to attempts by Brussels and certain ambassadors to undermine Georgian democracy,” Papuashvili said on Thursday.
Reflecting on the international assessment of the elections, he recalled that ahead of the vote, officials from Brussels and various EU member states had emphasized that the OSCE/ODIHR’s assessment would be decisive.
“Well, the assessment was made—it clearly said that Georgia has a legitimately elected government and that the election results reflect the will of the people. But suddenly, the OSCE/ODIHR was sidelined, and personal interpretations began to circulate,” Papuashvili remarked.
He added that several months after the vote, the OSCE Secretary General had to issue a direct clarification at the Assembly, confirming once again that the elections were held in line with democratic standards and that the results represent the people’s will.
The statement refers to Secretary General Sinirlioğlu’s recent comments, in which he said:
“Regarding Georgia’s parliamentary elections, which the opposition questions, the ODIHR report clearly states that despite certain shortcomings, the results reflected the will of the voters.”
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