OSCE PA President Cancels her Visit to Georgia Amid Criticism

President of OSCE PA Pia Kauma said on January 6 she is cancelling the visit to Georgia planned for January 8. The visit announcement sparked harsh criticism from the opposition parties and President Salome Zurabishvili, who warned that the visit would be manipulated by the ruling Georgian Dream party for claiming the legitimacy of what the opposition and President Zurabishvili, as well as majority of Georgia’s Western partners view as illegitimate government and parliament. The opposition parties as well as civil society have allegedly rejected to meet with the delegation.

Pia Kauma wrote that “following discussions and after close consideration, I’ve decided to postpone visiting Georgia until a time that the OSCE PA engagement would be most effective.” She added: “We remain ready to listen to all voices and offer assistance in implementing OSCE/ODIHR election recommendations.”

On January 6, Chair of the Helsinki Commission Joe Wilson, in his letter addressed to OSCE PA President Pia Kauma stated that he is concerned that the ruling Georgian Dream “would exploit any OSCE PA official engagement with its leaders under present circumstances to legitimize its tenuous grasp on power” and requested Pia Kauma to “reconsider” the planned trip.

Noting that he has learned that Pia Kauma and Vice President Luis Graça plan to conduct an official visit to Tbilisi and meet with Georgian Dream officials, among other interlocutors, Rep. Wilson noted that he feared it was inevitable that Georgian Dream would “misconstrue your engagement as symbolizing international approbation”, recalling earlier attempts to put the legitimization spin on international engagement.

He also noted that “the current dynamics in Tbilisi are not ripe for such a dialogue and are instead conducive to exploitation and deception” and offered to discuss these matters further by phone.

President Salome Zurabishvili earlier wrote that the planned visit by OSCE PA President “outrages the people standing on the Tbilisi streets for 40 nights, protesting rigged elections, and turn to Russia” adding: “Such an ill timed visit will not help to solve the crisis, only elections can!”

She also reacted to the Joe Wilson‘s letter sharing it and writing that “this is a shared concern of all Georgia’s European and American partners who care about stability, democracy and human rights in Georgia.” She addressed Pia Kauma with words: “Those should be your only goal, the only means being new elections applying OSCE recommendations.”

On January 5, the day that the visit announcement became public, three opposition political forces, Coalition for Change, Unity-UNM, and Strong Georgia, issued a joint letter urging Pia Kauma, the President of OSCE’s Parliamentary Assembly, to condition her visit to Georgia by GD’s government committing to new elections and releasing the detained protesters. Noting that in spite of the popular protests the “self-proclaimed regime” of Georgian Dream “does not consider releasing political prisoners or holding new elections,” and the visit will only be deemed appropriate if it facilitates preparations for new elections and the release of political prisoners.

The fourth opposition party Gakharia for Georgia wrote their separate letter to Pia Kauma, urging to reconsider the visit, with the party leader Giorgi Gakharia separately stating on his X account that “OSCE PA President’s visit to Tbilisi risks unintended consequences for the Georgian people’s fight for democracy and European future.”

The concerns expressed by President Zurabishvili and Rep. Joe Wilson have seem to be validated by the today’s statement made ahead of the planned OSCE PA President visit, by the Chair of the GD parliament Legal Affairs committee Archil Gorduladze who stated, before the news of the cancellation broke out: “The OSCE/ODIHR visit is, of course, very important and underscores that October 26 parliamentary elections indeed took place. There are no question marks regarding the elections.

He further noted that “the choice of the Georgian people, which grants legitimacy, does not need additional legitimacy from other organizations or other people.” He went on: “However, when the leadership of such an important organization once again visits Georgia to communicate with the elected government in order to implement the recommendation, of course, this once again emphasizes that the choice of the Georgian people is important for the organization.”

On the same day that she announced the cancellation of the January 8 visit to Tbilisi, OSCE PA President Pia Kauma wrote an official letter to GD Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili, notifying her of the decision and noting that “this decision has been taken after careful consideration of the current circumstances.”

The OSCE PA President writes that the purpose of the planned visit was “to facilitate dialogue with the government, opposition, and civil society on these vital recommendations and to reaffirm the OSCE’s commitment to supporting democratic reforms.” She notes that while appreciating “your government’s willingness to engage with my delegation” she has concluded that “the present conditions are not conducive to the meaningful and inclusive discussions required to make tangible progress.”

She writes: “As highlighted in the ODIHR Election Observation Mission’s Final Report on the 26 October parliamentary elections, and as discussed constructively with the Prime Minister yesterday, Georgia faces work to align its electoral processes with OSCE commitments and international democratic standards.” OSCE PA President then notes that the report’s findings and recommendations remain critical to addressing these deficiencies, reiterates her strong support for their implementation. She concludes by saying that in the meantime, she encourages the Georgian authorities “to act on the recommendations outlined in the ODIHR report and to prioritize inclusive and constructive dialogue with all relevant forces” and expresses readiness “to discuss this in an online meeting in the near future.”

This news was updated at 21:20 to include the letter of OSCE PA President to the GD Foreign Minister.

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