EU delegation observes Georgia’s local elections

Almost two dozen representatives from a special body within the Council of Europe will observe Georgia’s local self-government elections on June 15, 2014.

The 22-person delegation from the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities will be led by Jos Wienen of the Netherlands.

The delegation will hold two days of meeting in Tbilisi before being deployed throughout the country to observe the elections in Georgia’s regions.

The delegation carried out a pre-electoral observation mission in Georgia on May 28 and 29. At that time the group met with Georgian authorities and assessed how the country prepared for the local elections.

Ahead of Election Day, delegation leader Wienen encouraged the Georgian Government to do its utmost to ensure fair campaigning in a peaceful and democratic environment during the remaining days before next Sunday’s vote.

"I took note of the Government’s pledge to hold local elections at the highest democratic standards, to condemn any form of violence and to ensure the appropriate follow-up of each specific case of violation of the law.

"The competition between political parties and candidates during election campaigns may be controversial but should never be characterised by degrading or hateful discourse or action,” Wienen said.

After Election Day, the delegation will hold a press conference to present its preliminary findings.

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is a European political assembly with 636 members, who each hold elective offices representing more than 200,000 authorities in different states.

According to its website, the Congress aimed to promote local and regional democracy, improve local and regional governance and strengthen authorities' self-government. It paid particular attention to application of the principles laid down in the European Charter of Local Self-Government.