US ambassador: every new election in Georgia is better than previous ones, upcoming elections are an opportunity
US Ambassador Kelly Degnan said that the upcoming elections will be closely observed by the US. Photo: Imedi TV.
Tweet 
Share
The US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan says that every new election in Georgia is held in a better way than previous ones, stating that the upcoming parliamentary elections in the autumn ‘are of high importance and we will observe them closely.’
“The upcoming elections are an opportunity for Georgia to once again prove its progress,” Degnan stated late yesterday after PM Gakharia’s meeting with foreign ambassadors in Kakheti.
Degnan mentioned the election bill which was proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party per its agreement with the opposition in March and public discussions around the bill which have kicked off.
This is an opportunity for Georgia to hold free, fair and transparent elections in an unusual environment (referring to the pandemic),” Degnan said.
She stated that the Georgian government has not announced the date of the elections so far.
As far as I know no exact date has been announced so far and the government is discussing options if there is a second wave of the coronavirus (by the time of the elections in the autumn). The governments of other countries are also doing so. The current situation is unprecedented. I am sure that the elections will be held in a fair environment,” Degnan said.
US Ambassador Degnan and PM Gakharia yestetday in Kakheti. Photo: government of Georgia press office.
PM Gakharia said yesterday that the government is doing its utmost to minimise the cases of the coronavirus by the parliamentary elections in autumn.
We will manage this. The elections will be fair and transparent”, Gakharia said.
Parliamentary elections in Georgia are currently stated to take place at the end of October 2020, but will not take place if another state of emergency is announced.
If the elections are conducted in December instead of October 2020, the parliament will be valid for four years and 10 months, instead of four years and the following parliamentary elections will be held in 2025 instead of 2024.
The change in the date will take place as elections in Georgia can be conducted either in spring or autumn according to the Georgian constitution.
US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan has attended the certification exercise for the Georgia Deployment Program – Resolute Support Mission (GDP-RSM), conducted by Georgian and American troops, where she stated that Georgia is not only committed to supporting NATO, but that it can train and certify its own defence units for these missions.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has hosted members of the diplomatic corps at Lopota Lake in the Kakheti region earlier today, where he spoke about the coronavirus crisis, the country’s plans to reboot the economy, how to proceed with the October elections and other intentions.Gakharia noted domestic tourism has resumed today in Georgia and that ‘Kakheti is lucky as Georgia’s best friends, foreign ambassadors, are visiting the region as tourists.’
At a meeting with the diplomatic corps in the Kakheti region of Georgia the Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia thanked the United States for its contribution in founding the Lugar Laboratory in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.
Head of Georgia’s National Centre for Disease Control Amiran Gamkrelidze says the academic year will begin in September and the parliamentary elections will be held in October without any problems if Georgia maintains the current rate of infection.
United States Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan said the United States would like to see Georgia’s constitutional amendments ‘accepted, adopted by a full parliament’ so that Georgia can have ‘a truly successful achievement and fulfilment' of the March 8 election agreement.