NDI, IRI call on all political parties to uphold democratic principles ahead of municipal elections
The NDI and IRI will publish their electoral assessment reports several weeks after the elections. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Expert teams of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) are visiting Tbilisi in the run up to the October 2 self-government elections and are calling on ‘all political parties to uphold democratic principles by participating actively and in good faith during the elections and in the post-election period.’
If the parties genuinely commit themselves to constructive competition and dialogue rooted in citizen interests, Georgia can maintain its legitimate place among the region's democracies,” the statement of the IRI and NDI reads.
The representatives of the organisations will meet with ruling party leaders as well as the opposition ‘to express support for electoral and political engagement based on democratic principles.’
They also will meet with both local and international observer organisations and the diplomatic community and will discuss Georgia’s future perspectives based on the ongoing election processes.
The two Institutes’ expert teams will not issue statements before or after the elections. However, they will be informed by their respective teams of long-term analysts who, in parallel to the expert teams, are assessing the electoral process,” the statement reads.
The NDI and IRI will publish their electoral assessment reports several weeks after the elections.
A total of 71 local and 33 international organisations will observe the elections.
Over 3.4 million citizens will be eligible to vote in the mayoral and local council elections. There are 241 mayoral and 2,845 local city council candidates running.
MEP Marina Kaljurand has stated that Georgian political parties should accept the results of the upcoming municipal elections if the OSCE/ODIHR recognises the legitimacy of the race. In an interview with the Georgian bureau of Voice of America (VOA), Kaljurand also said that the European Parliament expects ‘free, fair and open elections’ to be held in Georgia on October 2.
The European Parliament as well as the OSCE/ODIHR will send observers for Georgia’s October 2 municipal elections. OSCE/ODIHR has tweeted that both its short and long-term observers will monitor the elections. Twenty-five foreign organisations have been registered so far to observe the elections. The Georgian government says that it wants more international observers to prevent any question marks regarding the election results.
The National Democratic Institute (NDI) has offered recommendations ahead of the October 2 municipal elections to ‘help the country’ maintain its 30-year progress and leadership in the region for its commitment to Euro-Atlantic values.
The National Democratic Institute (NDI) has launched its long-term election observation mission in Georgia for the October 2 municipal elections.
Head of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party Nika Melia, who is running for Tbilisi mayor in the October 2 municipal elections, says that ‘if almost all international observers say that the elections were held in the full line with the EU and US standards, we will accept the results.’
The Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities will observe the October 2 self-government elections in Georgia on the invitation of the Georgian government in 64 municipalities of the country. The mission involves 18 congress observers from 15 countries and is chaired by David Eray from Switzerland.
“The Georgian government will spare no effort to ensure a free and safe environment for transparent elections”, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili stated at the meeting with the representatives of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI) earlier today.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has met with the Central Election Commisis0onchair and representatives of international election monitoring missions ahead of the October 2 municipal elections. Reportedly, the chair of the delegation of MEPs, Michael Gahler hoped that the upcoming elections would be transparent and peaceful and wished Georgia success on its European path.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has met with a delegation of MEPs ahead of the October 2 municipal elections and has discussed the Georgian government’s readiness to hold ‘free, fair and transparent’ local self-government elections. PM has thanked the MEPs for their support of the country’s European integration, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“Election day is important, for sure, but it is just the tip of the iceberg”, said Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission (EOM) Albert Jonsson earlier today.
The National Democratic Institute (NDI) has released its report on the October 2021 Georgian municipal elections which says that the race was ‘generally well administered,’ but ‘deep flaws in the electoral and, significantly, the political environment, adversely affected the process.’