The statement released by the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE), according to which the organization described a number of international observers present in Georgia during the October 4, 2025 local self-government elections as “fake observers,” is clearly offensive, baseless, and aimed at discreditation — this is stated in a release issued by the Central Election Commission (CEC).

According to the CEC, the election administration believes that all of the above represents an attempt to overshadow and discredit, both locally and internationally, the successfully conducted elections in Georgia on October 4, which is categorically unacceptable and alarming.

“The Central Election Commission of Georgia (CEC) has reviewed the statement disseminated by the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE), which claims that a number of international observers present in Georgia during the October 4, 2025 local elections were ‘fake observers,’ including representatives of election administrations and vendor organizations from various countries.

This assessment is clearly offensive, baseless, and aimed at discreditation — both of Georgia’s election administration and of those international observers who monitored the elections at the official invitation of the CEC, in full compliance with Georgian law and international practice.

The CEC of Georgia states that all foreign observers who were present in Georgia for the 2025 local elections were registered in accordance with the requirements defined by the election legislation. Their invitation and stay in the country were based on international standards and well-established good practices developed over the years, which involve professional cooperation and the exchange of experience. These individuals did not engage in political or lobbying activities, and their participation aimed solely to provide a professional assessment of the election process, if they so wished.

Therefore, the term ‘fake observer’ used by EPDE represents a gross violation of the principle of objectivity and harms both the reputation of Georgia’s election administration and the authority of the relevant institutions of those countries whose representatives took part in the process. The CEC calls on EPDE to publicly clarify the sources and evidence on which it based these assessments.

The public is reminded that good international practice does not require verifying an observer’s profession, education, occupation, or prior election experience when registering them, nor does it define specific professional requirements or qualifications. Nevertheless, some interested parties have manipulatively presented this issue in relation to various observers. We categorically state that representatives of both foreign election administrations and other organizations were registered as international observers for the October 4, 2025 elections in full compliance with the law.

It is also noteworthy that EPDE referred to official representatives of constitutional bodies — election administrations and the vendor company — as ‘fake observers,’ even though in their statements they expressed no political opinions or indications beyond procedural and technical assessments. Moreover, some of the individuals mentioned in EPDE’s report made no statements whatsoever during their observation missions. Thus, labeling them as ‘fake observers’ appears to be solely because they were present in Georgia and observed the elections as international observers. Furthermore, it is unclear why, out of approximately 40 delegates from more than 20 election administrations worldwide, EPDE chose to highlight only a few individuals and on what basis or evidence.

It is important to note that representatives of various countries’ legislative bodies and other institutions also observed the October 4 elections. Each of them conducted observation activities within the framework defined by law, and making any assessments or statements — whether positive or critical — was their right. Therefore, referring to them as ‘fake observers’ is so groundless that it can be regarded as an attempt to discredit these individuals and the election process itself, as well as a form of pressure on them.

The election administration believes that all of the above represents an attempt to overshadow the successfully held October 4 elections in Georgia and to discredit the process both locally and internationally, which is categorically unacceptable and deeply concerning — especially coming from an organization that was not even registered as an observer for these elections.

It should also be noted that one of EPDE’s member organizations is ISFED — the organization that manipulatively presented the results of the Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) for the 2020 elections to the public. As a result of that incident, ISFED’s then-director, who according to current information now works with EPDE, resigned. Despite this precedent, credibility issues regarding PVT results reappeared during the 2024 elections as well. This time, the data reportedly matched the CEC’s official results, but the results themselves were not published. Naturally, these circumstances raise questions about EPDE’s objectivity and impartiality,” the statement concludes.