ISFED “partiality” means it “cannot be” election observer - Georgia’s Vice Parliament Speaker

Archil Talakvadze, the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Thursday said the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy "cannot be an election observing organisation" due to its “partiality”, before describing the ISFED as a “part of the radical opposition" and a group “aligned with their interests”.

The statement came following earlier remarks by the ruling Georgian Dream party, which dismissed the ISFED's recent pre-election monitoring report as "absurd and baseless” and accused it of "promoting polarisation" ahead of the October 26 parliamentary elections.

In his press comments, Talakvadze also criticised the ISFED for its role in the 2020 parliamentary elections, alleging that organisation had been involved in "falsifying the results of parallel vote counts”. He suggested the actions indicated the ISFED's "alignment with a particular party rather than an impartial stance”. 

Unfortunately, the ISFED’s actions during the previous elections confirmed this perception. The public and we remember these events, so their statements and assessments should be viewed as reflecting the interests of the party rather than those of an independent and unbiased organisation”, he said.

GD on Thursday urged international partners to "reassess" the ISFED’s role, claiming the organisation had "abandoned its neutrality" and was "actively working to discredit" the current Georgian Government.