Opposition leader dismisses CEC letter to PACE, says no democracy recognizes Georgia’s election results

Zurab Japaridze, a leader of Georgia’s opposition Coalition for Change, on Tuesday criticized the country’s Central Election Commission (CEC), saying its recent appeal to European lawmakers could not change the “widespread non-recognition” of the 2024 parliamentary election results.

In a response to the CEC’s open letter to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Japaridze said “there is no point in reading the CEC letter… It has been six months since the elections and no democratic country recognizes the results published by the CEC.”

The CEC’s letter, released this week, claims Georgia’s election administration had faced a prolonged campaign of discreditation since the October 26 vote. The commission urged PACE to verify facts directly with Georgian authorities and to avoid what it described as “superficial” judgments that could deepen political polarization.

According to the CEC, the immediate cause for the letter was a new resolution passed by PACE which referenced the need for further inquiry into Georgia’s electoral process.

But Japaridze dismissed the move as a belated and ineffective effort to salvage legitimacy. “No matter how many letters they write, it will not change the reality,” he said.