Georgia | OSCE Human Rights Office calls on Georgian authorities to respect freedom of peaceful assembly, human rights amid increasing pressure on civil society
WARSAW | 7 October 2025 WARSAW, 7 October 2025 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) expresses concern over the violent protests following Georgia’s recent local elections. Amid the rapid deterioration of the democratic and human rights environment in the country, ODIHR urges the Georgian authorities to respect the rights to […]
“When observers are silenced, democracy loses its witnesses.” – EPDE board member Zosia Lutkiewicz delivers intervention at WHDC
EPDE board member Zosia Lutkiewicz delivered an intervention at the 2025 Warsaw Human Dimension Conference highlighting the climate of repression and narrowing spaces for election observers and ways to respond. Citizen election observers are often the first to notice when democracy begins to close. When civic space narrows, it shows first in the polling station, […]
Webinar: Georgia’s 2025 Municipal Elections: A Critical Test for Democracy amid Repression and Isolation | 9 October 2025 | 16:00 CET
On 4 October 2025, Georgia held nationwide local elections – the first such important elections since the controversial parliamentary elections in 2024. Taking place amid deep political polarisation, protests, and increasing democratic erosion, these elections are expected to strengthen the dominance of the ruling Georgian Dream party. Independent monitoring has been limited in an unprecedented […]
Municipal Elections in Georgia – a Short Explainer
Georgia is scheduled to hold nationwide municipal elections on October 4, 2025. These elections mark the first electoral test since the disputed 2024 parliamentary elections and come at a time of heightened political polarization, ongoing anti-government protests, and considerable democratic backsliding. The ruling Georgian Dream party has significantly altered the legal framework governing elections, as […]
WHDC Side Event: Citizen Observation under Pressure: Safeguarding the Space to Monitor Elections
All guests of the 2025 Warsaw Human Dimension Conference (WHDC) are invited to attend EPDE-ODIHR side event scheduled for 7 October, 18:30–19:30 in Meeting Room 1 – Belweder Foreign interference, disinformation, and opaque political financing are reshaping elections across the OSCE region, creating new demands on citizen observers. As these risks grow, domestic monitoring organisations […]
Moldova: Promo-LEX Election Observation Mission: Summary statement of findings and conclusions on the September 28 Parliamentary Elections
The Promo-LEX Association, a member of the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE), has released a statement on observing Moldova’s 28 September 2025 parliamentary elections, highlighting both improvements and persistent systemic challenges. Introduction On 28 September 2025, citizens of the Republic of Moldova were called to elect a new Parliament. The elections were competitive and […]
FURIC 2025 | Technologies for Trust: Innovating for Election Integrity in a Changing Global Order
The Follow-Up on Recommendations’ Implementation Conference (FURIC 2025) returned to Brussels for its third edition on September 23–24, 2025, this year organised in cooperation with European Parliament’s Democracy Support and Election Coordination Group (DEG) and OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR). In times of increasing digital interference and authoritarian influence on elections […]
Russian authorities shelve plans for mass rollout of electronic voting
Russian authorities have decided to scale back the use of remote electronic voting (REV), which is no longer seen as a priority project. According to the outlet Verstka, the system will not be widely deployed in the State Duma elections scheduled for 20 September 2026. There are several reasons for that. Firstly, the Kremlin is reportedly […]
REPORT NO. 4 | Promo-LEX presented Report no. 3 of the Observation Mission for the Parliamentary Elections of 28 September
The Promo-LEX Association has presented today Report no. 4 of the Observation Mission for the parliamentary elections of 28 September, covering the period from 11 September to 24 September 2025. The report contains observations and findings regarding the end of the electoral campaign, the behaviour of competitors, and the transparency of campaign financing. The full […]
Moldova: The infrastructure of an information war
Between September 1 and 23, the networks monitored in the Republic of Moldova generated 9,882 videos, which accumulated 93.1 million views on the TikTok platform. We are talking about a huge flow of mass-distributed content: over 204,000 shares and 1.5 million likes. In a country with only 2.3 million citizens, these figures indicate a propaganda […]