Georgia PM rejects UK call for OSCE observation of local elections
PM Kobakhidze argued that according to international practice, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) “typically only observes national parliamentary elections, not local votes.”
Author
Front News Georgia
Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has dismissed a call by the British Embassy in Tbilisi to invite an OSCE/ODIHR mission to monitor the country’s upcoming local elections, describing the request as “unnecessary.”
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Kobakhidze argued that according to international practice, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) “typically only observes national parliamentary elections, not local votes.”
“There are occasional exceptions, including in 2021 when local elections in Georgia were linked to parliamentary developments,” he said. “But generally, OSCE/ODIHR is not invited for local elections. Therefore, we believe it would be an unnecessary burden.”
The Prime Minister also criticized what he described as past “vicious practices” in UK-Georgia cooperation, accusing British-backed organisations of supporting “radical opposition” groups in Georgia. He specifically named several civil society organisations, including Tabula, Future Academy, and the Franklin Club, claiming they had received foreign funding aimed at “extremism.”
“Of course, we are open to cooperation with Great Britain,” Kobakhidze said, “but it must be based on clear principles.”
In a statement issued earlier, the British Embassy called on the Georgian government to invite the OSCE/ODIHR to monitor the local elections and to implement the recommendations the organisation made following its observation of the 2024 parliamentary elections. It emphasized that Georgia’s own legislation supports the role of independent observers as part of transparent electoral oversight.
