OSCE to Send 300 Election Observers

The OSCE will send 300 short-term observers to monitor the January 5 early presidential elections.

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)opened a long-term observation mission in Tbilisi on December 6.

The observation mission is led by Dieter Boden, a German diplomat who served as the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative in Georgia in 1999-2002.

“This election is held under extraordinary circumstances, in a tight timeframe and under a recently reviewed election law,” Boden said in Tbilisi on December 6.

Thirteen international long-term observers are based in Tbilisi and another 28 will be deployed throughout the country. The observers will also carry out media monitoring in the run-up to the election.