OSCE/ODIHR to send 380 observers to Georgia to monitor municipal elections
The OSCE/ODIHR mission will publish an interim report to update the public and media during the observation period, while the final report and recommendations for improvements will be published about two months after the elections. Photo: 1TV.ge.
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OSCE/ODIHR will send 350 short-term and 30 long-term observers to Georgia for the country’s October 2 municipal elections.
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) opened an election observation mission for the October 2 elections today.
The mission led by Ambassador Albert Jonsson consists of a core team of 12 experts and 30 long-term observers, who will be deployed throughout the country Starting September 4.
Another 350 short-term observers will visit Georgia several days before election day.
Of course, we [the OSCE/ODIHR] are not interested in the election results. The mission is interested in the process itself and its role is not to interfere... Our role is only to observe and publish evaluations in reports'', said Albert Jonsson.
The OSCE/ODIHR observers will monitor voter registration, campaign activities, the work of the election administration and government bodies, election-related legislation and its implementation. Observers will also monitor media coverage of the campaign.
The OSCE/ODIHR mission will publish an interim report to update the public and media during the observation period, while the final report and recommendations for improvements will be published about two months after the elections.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili says that the opposition parties are ‘campaigning’ for the postponement of the October 2 municipal elections because they are ‘destined for failure’ in the race. While presenting the ruling party’s majoritarian candidate in Mestia in the Svaneti region earlier today, Garibashvili noted that the opposition ‘has used the Public Defender’s office’ to push the government to declare a state of emergency which will automatically postpone the elections.
Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria says that the October 2 municipal elections should be postponed due to the surging Covid-19 case figures.
The International Republican Institute (IRI) has released the results of a nationwide poll which revealed that 75 per cent of Georgians are very likely to vote in the upcoming municipal elections. 25 per cent of the voters who are not likely to participate in the local elections say that they ‘do not have confidence in the electoral process.’
The Georgian parliament has elected Giorgi Kalandarishvili as the new head of the Central Election Commission (CEC) in a fourth vote, following the resignation of the body’s former chair Tamar Zhvania in late June. Two other individuals, Gia Tsatsashvili and Maia Zaridze, were elected members of the commission.
The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) has reported 15 alleged cases of dismissal on political grounds in Georgia in the run up to the October 2 municipal elections. The organisation has also reported several cases of direct or indirect compulsion for the involvement of the educational institutions’ employees in the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party’s campaign. However, ISFED praised the process of interviewing the candidates for membership of the District Election Commission (DEC) which was broadcast live.
The Georgian Public Defender’s Office says that ‘62 employees were subjected to various forms of pressure’ and dozens were dismissed on political grounds ahead of the October 2 municipal elections.
The Georgian parliament approved new rules for the election of the head of the country’s Central Election Commission (CEC) and its members earlier today despite the calls of NGOs not to support the ‘simplified procedures.’