Today, December 20, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) publishes its final assessment of the 2024 parliamentary elections, pointing to numerous challenges that directly impacted the election results.
“Numerous issues noted in our final report negatively impacted the integrity of these elections and eroded public trust in the process,” says mission head Eoghan Murphy, explaining that “To safeguard the democratic principles currently at stake in Georgia, it is imperative that the authorities urgently address all concerns.”
The report discusses that the elections were conducted in a harmful legislative context, amid diminished independence of institutions, which damages fundamental human rights, and voters had to cast their votes in an environment that created fear of political retribution. It also mentions that complaints regarding violations were inadequately reviewed, protests were violently suppressed, which raised serious questions about the authorities’ compliance with international obligations.
OSCE/ODIHR notes that recognizing or rejecting elections is beyond its mandate; however, its impartial and comprehensive assessment gives voters the opportunity to judge the quality of elections themselves.
The full report is available on the OSCE/ODIHR website.
