TBILISI. June 18 (Interfax) - Georgia will not invite a mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) for monitoring local elections in October 2025, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said.
"In fact, there is no such practice of inviting OSCE/ODIHR observers to local elections. It is a standard practice to invite an OSCE/ODIHR mission to parliamentary elections, so we believe it would be too much to burden them with such elections," Kobakhidze told the press, as he commented on the British embassy's call on the Georgian government to invite an OSCE/ODIHR mission to local elections.
"Those people who completely disregarded the conclusions drawn by the OSCE/ODIHR mission from last year's parliamentary elections now ask us to invite OSCE/ODIHR observers to local elections," he said.
Georgia is ready to cooperate with the United Kingdom, but these cooperation needs to be based on specific principles, Kobakhidze said.