MP Gorduladze claims OSCE/ODIHR mission came under ‘deep state’ pressure

Archil Gorduladze, Chair of Georgia’s Parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee, on Saturday claimed the OSCE/ODIHR mission faced “special attacks and pressure from the deep state,” which, he argued, explains the organisation’s decision not to observe Georgia’s upcoming local elections.

“There is a well-founded assumption that the OSCE/ODIHR mission was subjected to special attacks and pressure from the so-called deep state. That is why they are not coming to Georgia to observe the local elections,” Gorduladze said.

He said it takes only about a month to assemble and dispatch an election observation mission, citing examples from Georgia’s 2008 presidential elections and Czechia’s current parliamentary vote.

“When Mikheil Saakashvili resigned at the end of November 2007, OSCE/ODIHR managed to send a mission and observe the January 2008 elections, despite the holiday season across Europe. Likewise, today in Czechia, they were able to deploy observers within weeks for the October 4 parliamentary elections,” Gorduladze said.

He argued that the refusal in Georgia’s case is politically motivated.

“This gives us the well-grounded assumption that the ‘deep state’ exerted pressure on OSCE/ODIHR because in 2024 they reported that elections in Georgia were competitive and that every voter could express their choice. The ‘deep state’ does not want this, because their goal is not peaceful elections, but to bring to power agents who are ready to sign anything, through upheaval. This is the key reason why ODIHR is not coming,” Gorduladze stated.