EU Ambassador to Georgia: how victory is achieved at parliamentary elections more important than who wins
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EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell says that as an international observer it is more important for him to see how a party will win at the 2020 parliamentary elections of Georgia rather than who wins.
I will keep an eye on this election campaign", he said.
Hartzell said no one doubts that 'this will be a very important election'.
We have seen the adoption of new legislation under the March 8 agreement. In my opinion, this creates a new and positive framework for this election, which will be used positively by all participants in this election, including new participants as well”, he said.
Parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in Georgia on October, 31 2020 to elect 150 members of parliament.
Parliamentary elections will be held according to an updated electoral system: 120 MPs will be elected according to party lists, and 30 - according to majoritarian districts. In addition, the barrier for a party to enter parliament has been lowered and is now not three, but only one percent.
One of the leaders of the opposition European Georgia party and a former member of the United National Movement (UNM) party Giga Bokeria predicts voters will punish the UNM this October when the country goes to the polls in parliamentary elections, as 'our citizens do not make mistakes when assessing who is politically immature and irresponsible.’
Coercion and intimidation of voters or the violation of vote secrecy will become criminally liable in Georgia as part of a series of amendments to the election code proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party. Violation of vote secrecy or coercion of a voter will result in a fine or house arrest for a period from six months to two years or imprisonment for about three years.
The Georgian government is ready to charter flights to bring in international observers for the upcoming parliamentary elections that will be held on October 31, says the Chairman of the Parliament, Archil Talakvadze.
Twenty-three opposition parties in Georgia have signed a memorandum to ensure the integrity of the upcoming October elections.
President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili has named October 31 as the date of parliamentary elections and elections of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara within Georgia. Zurabishvili said that 30 years ago, on October 28, 1990 Georgia held democratic elections and 'we should continue this tradition and represent our country to the world as an extremely democratic country'.
US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan says that Georgia should expect Russian interference in the upcoming parliamentary elections. She said that one of the ways Russia may interfere in the parliamentary elections is to spread disinformation campaigns.
Starting today, the 59 political parties that have registered with the Central Election Commission (CEC) to run in the 2020 Georgian parliamentary elections can begin their election campaigns.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Harzell has said in his New Year statement that 2020 was a year that started with a political crisis and ended with another, election-related political crisis in Georgia.