Twenty-nine members of parliament from 11 Allied countries have travelled to Georgia this week to observe the 26 October parliamentary elections as part of a NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) delegation. Turkish lawmaker and vice-president of the NATO PA, Faik Oztrak (Türkiye), serves as head of the NATO PA delegation. The NATO PA is institutionally separate from NATO but, among others, serves as an essential link between NATO and NATO parliaments.

Since Georgia became an Associate Member of the Assembly in May 1999, the NATO PA has developed a special and active partnership with the country. Its members regularly engage in close and frank dialogue and active cooperation with the Parliament of Georgia, including through the Georgia-NATO Interparliamentary Council. 

The NATO PA participates in election observation only in exceptional circumstances – notably when nations seek NATO membership, as Georgia does – and solely when invited and following an explicit decision by its governing body.

“The shared values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law are the very foundation of the NATO Alliance. Respect for these values is an essential condition for becoming a NATO member. This includes, of course, the conduct of democratic elections. And that is why NATO PA delegations have monitored all parliamentary elections in the country since 2008 and all presidential elections since 2013,” Mr Oztrak told parliamentary observers of the international election observation mission.

“Since Russia restarted its full-scale war against Ukraine in February 2022, we have redoubled our efforts to support Georgia more. But in recent months, the NATO PA has also made clear that Georgia stands at a decisive crossroads,” he stressed. “This election is yet another critical test for Georgia’s democracy.”

In the observation of the Georgian elections, as in others, the NATO PA cooperates closely with the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the European Parliament (EP).

Observers will deliver a post-election statement of preliminary findings and conclusions at a press conference in Tbilisi on 27 October.