Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, has criticized the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs after it expressed concern over the OSCE/ODIHR’s absence from observing Georgia’s upcoming local elections.

Papuashvili pointed out that Sweden itself has never invited OSCE/ODIHR to monitor its local elections. “It is not the Swedish Foreign Ministry’s role to decide who observes elections in Georgia,” he said.

He also accused Sweden of double standards, referencing Swedish MP Erik Ottosson’s appearance at a 2024 anti-government rally in Tbilisi, where he allegedly urged the opposition to “go to Maidan.” Papuashvili noted that Sweden’s Foreign Ministry has never distanced itself from that statement, calling their current concerns “hypocrisy.”

The OSCE/ODIHR has cited timing issues as the reason for not deploying an observation mission for Georgia’s local elections. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze previously expressed hope that the organization would still send observers despite what he described as ongoing “insults and pressure.”