CEC Registers Election Observers as OSCE/ODIHR Declines to Join October 4 Vote
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, September 11, 2025
Georgia's Central Election Commission (CEC) has announced that 19 international and 9 local organizations have so far been registered to monitor the municipal elections scheduled for October 4.
CEC spokesperson Natia Ioseliani voiced regret that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) will not be taking part.
"It is unfortunate that OSCE/ODIHR observation will not be the case in municipal elections, though there was an offer," she told journalists on September 10. She stressed the importance of participation by monitoring groups, adding, "For us, the election administration, of course, as usual, now too, the participation of both local and international organizations in this process is important."
ODIHR announced on September 9 that it could not deploy a mission, citing "insufficient time for credible and meaningful observation" after the ruling Georgian Dream party issued an invitation only four weeks before election day. The current number of registered missions is far lower than in 2021, when by the same point 29 international and 64 local observer groups had already been accredited. Registration remains open until the end of September.
The international list consists mainly of state-linked election commissions from countries such as Jordan, Turkey, Ethiopia, South Africa, Bulgaria, Armenia, Estonia, and Albania, among others. Notably absent are the large and widely recognized organizations that have often monitored past elections, including ODIHR itself, the National Democratic Institute (NDI), and the International Republican Institute (IRI).
The nine Georgian organizations accredited so far include the Civic Development and Monitoring Center, the Center for Democracy and Human Rights, and the Free Generation Association. Many of these groups are little known, and some have previously faced criticism over links to the ruling party. Prominent watchdogs such as the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), Transparency International Georgia, and the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association are not on the list. ISFED explained earlier that it would not deploy a full observation mission this year, pointing to "largely unmet" conditions for ensuring a fair vote, though it plans to continue monitoring pre-election developments.
The elections themselves are set to unfold in a contentious environment. Fourteen parties are competing, including the Lelo/Strong Georgia alliance and former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia's For Georgia party. A coalition of major opposition groups, known as the Eight Parties, is campaigning for a boycott, arguing that participation would only serve to legitimize Georgian Dream amid ongoing protests and accusations of state repression.
