Transparency International Georgia Withdraws from Monitoring Municipal Elections, Citing Repression
By Liza Mchedlidze
Friday, October 3, 2025
For the first time in its 25-year history, Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia) says it will not be able to monitor elections in the country. The organization announced on October 2 that it will skip observing the upcoming October 4 municipal elections, citing what it described as a repressive environment created by the ruling Georgian Dream party.
"On October 4, 2025, regular municipal elections are scheduled to be held in Georgia. Transparency International Georgia has observed almost every election in the country. The upcoming municipal elections will mark the first time in the organization's 25-year history that we will be unable to conduct observation," the statement said.
The watchdog attributed the decision to legal restrictions and political pressure. According to TI Georgia, recently adopted laws have made it nearly impossible for non-governmental organizations to operate freely, exposing them to heavy fines, harassment, and criminal charges. The group said it is under "dual scrutiny" by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, and its Executive Director, Eka Gigauri, has been summoned for questioning in connection with the so-called "face masks case." TI Georgia warned that this process creates "a serious risk of politically motivated criminal charges carrying allegations of grave offenses."
The organization also pointed to a climate of intimidation. It said civil society and media groups face disinformation campaigns, threats, and verbal attacks from senior officials, while election observers could be vulnerable to provocations or fabricated cases brought by law enforcement.
TI Georgia stressed that independent observation is essential to ensuring fair elections, citing the nine principles of the OSCE Copenhagen Document of 1990, which include equal suffrage, free campaigning, and the protection of media freedom. The organization argued that those conditions no longer exist in Georgia. "The discrediting of potential political competitors and the imprisonment of opposition party members are not characteristic of free elections," the statement read.
"The current environment, created by Georgian Dream through the capture of state institutions, is one in which holding a free, fair, and competitive election is impossible," the organization said. "By observing these elections, we will not and cannot create the illusion of a free and fair election."
Transparency International Georgia added that its decision was made to avoid legitimizing a process it considers fundamentally flawed.
