IRI mission in Georgia to assess elections

Parliamentary elections will take place on October 31 in Georgia. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.

Agenda.ge, 22 Sep 2020 - 15:50, Tbilisi,Georgia

IRI’s international Technical Election Assessment Mission (TEAM) has already arrived in Georgia to assess the October 31 parliamentary elections. 

The TEAM was invited by the Georgian Central Election Commission, and comprises a diverse group of five technical long-term analysts who will review all phases of the electoral process and issue a series of reports on their findings, IRI said, adding that these studies will be informed by in-depth interviews with government officials, the electoral administration, political party leaders, civil society and media representatives.

IRI says that the technical assessment team will conduct its activities in accordance with the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and Code of Conduct for International Election Observers, and will base its findings and recommendations on Georgia’s laws, international standards for elections and the commitments made by political parties in the Code of Conduct for Political Parties.

These parliamentary elections represent an important step for Georgia’s democracy and a litmus test for Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations,” said IRI Regional Director for Eurasia Stephen Nix. “IRI’s mission will prioritise key issues affecting electoral integrity, including election administration, media freedom and transparency, campaign finance, political party campaigns, as well as voting safety measures being implemented during the COVID-19 crisis.”

The election will be held per a mixed electoral system with 120 MPs elected based on party-list voting, while the remaining 30 in single-member constituencies.