ISFED reports 15 alleged cases of dismissal on political grounds ahead of municipal elections

The ruling party withdrew from the EU-mediated agreement in late July due to the largest opposition United National Movement (UNM) party’s refusal to join the agreement. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge. 

Agenda.ge, 01 Sep 2021 - 13:50, Tbilisi,Georgia

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. 

ISFED’s interim report identified several other violations, such as:

  • 11 alleged cases of political pressure, threats and obstruction
  • 13 alleged cases of use of administrative resources
  • Six cases of social agitation
  • Four cases of voter bribery
  • Eight cases of acting officials’ campaigns

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 interim report also noted that 55 per cent of the DEC were elected by low quorum. 

It should be noted that it was not always possible to elect members of the election commission with a high quorum, which would be of great importance in terms of increasing confidence in the administration,” ISFED reports. 

Several electoral amendments have been adopted by the Georgian parliament earlier this summer which were proposed by the GD and opposition party Citizens ahead of the local self-government elections in compliance with the EU-mediated agreement that resolved the political standoff caused by parliamentary elections 2020. 

However, the GD withdrew from the agreement in late July due to the largest opposition United National Movement (UNM) party’s refusal to join the agreement.

Per the amendments, the Central Election Commission (CEC) head can now be elected only by the Georgian parliament with the Georgian president’s nomination and not by the CEC itself. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.

The Georgian parliament elected Giorgi Kalandarishvili as the new head of the CEC, following the resignation of the body’s former chair Tamar Zhvania in late June.