Washington, DC – The International Republican Institute’s (IRI) International Election Observation Mission (IEOM) today released its final report on Georgia’s parliamentary elections, which includes a series of key findings and recommendations.

The IEOM was led by IRI President Dr. Daniel Twining, former U.S. Representative John Shimkus, and Swedish Member of Parliament Margareta Cederfelt. This report details the findings and recommendations of the 48-person international observation mission that focused on national and community-level activities and dynamics in the pre-election, election, and post-election periods of Georgia’s 2024 parliamentary election.

The IRI mission concludes that Georgia’s parliamentary elections were fundamentally flawed due to a legal framework and regulatory practices that hindered genuine electoral competition, misuse of public resources by the ruling government, the targeting of civil society, obstruction of opposition parties, systematic voter intimidation, and lack of public confidence and trust in institutions.

“Georgia’s parliamentary election was not credible in the eyes of its citizens and marks a sad chapter in the country’s fight for freedom and democratic accountability. Despite nearly 40 years of attempted Kremlin infiltration, the Georgian people remain undeterred in their quest for greater ties to Europe and a democratic future,” said Twining.

The IRI mission found that numerous factors negatively impacted Georgia’s electoral process and cast serious doubts on the election’s credibility. Moreover, the mission observed significant and systematic irregularities in the electoral process, highlighting four primary areas of concern: 1. inequitable conditions and misuse of state resources; 2. suppression of civil society and opposition parties, and systematic voter intimidation; 3. state capture of electoral and judicial institutions; and 4. public rejection of election results.

“Georgia’s institutions, including the Central Election Commission, the judiciary, and the government bureaucracy, functioned as arms of the ruling party rather than being independent and impartial. Reflecting on what IRI’s mission observed and on what has transpired since the election, only new elections can restore the Georgian people’s confidence in their government’s legitimacy,” said Twining.

The parliamentary elections revealed a decline of genuine political competition that risks state capture by one party, with no ability for democratic political parties to compete on a level playing field. The IRI mission found that numerous factors heavily marred the process and cast serious doubts on the election’s credibility. The observations of the IRI mission underscore an urgent need for coherent and comprehensive election reforms to address weaknesses in the legal, administrative, and institutional framework governing elections.

IRI’s mission offers 31 recommendations to safeguard Georgia’s democracy, which include protecting fundamental freedoms of its citizens, and meaningful steps that Georgia must urgently undertake to ensure future elections are credible. IRI remains committed to supporting Georgia’s democratic development.

About the Mission:

The delegation to Georgia’s 2024 parliamentary elections marks IRI’s 250th international election observation mission since 1984. Since then, IRI has offered countless reform recommendations for the benefit of host countries, including recommendations for Georgia and other countries that seek to improve the quality and conduct of their elections.

The analysis of the pre-election environment began in early June and included 20 international Long-term Observers (LTOs) who were on the ground beginning in July and 28 Short-term Observers (STOs) who observed election week. Long-term observers deployed to ten regions throughout Georgia: Imereti, Kakheti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Shida Kartli, Kvemo Kartli, Ajara and Tbilisi. For approximately 100 days ahead of the polls, the mission observed all 73 election districts throughout the country and met with political parties, media representatives, election officials, the judiciary, government and security officials, civil society organizations, and community and religious leaders.

The methodology is based on a comprehensive gathering of information for fact-based, politically impartial analysis that is presented in the mission’s findings and recommendations. The mission conducted its activities in accordance with Georgian laws and the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation, adhering to principles of non-interference and coordinating closely with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and other regional organizations that endorse the Declaration.

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