Council of Europe Congress will observe municipal elections in Georgia
A total of nine teams will be deployed by the mission in various cities and rural areas of Georgia. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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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 Council of Europe Congress will observe the elections in the country along with the OSCE/ODIHR and the European Parliament.
The congress delegation will meet with the Head of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia Giorgi Kalandarishvili and the Deputy Minister of Justice and Head of Inter-Agency Task Force for Free and Fair Elections Tornike Cheishvili as part of preparatory meetings.
The representatives of the mission will also meet with diplomatic corps, domestic and international NGOs and media outlets on September 30 and October 1 before the deployment of the mission on the ground.
A few days are left before the self-government elections in Georgia where over 3.4 million country’s citizens will be able to elect mayors and members of local councils in various cities of Georgia. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
The preparatory program of the Congress will also include meetings with the candidates of the local elections and political party representatives.
The mission will be concluded by a joint press conference with OSCE/ODIHR and the European Parliament on Sunday, 3 October 2021, at 15:00, at the Sheraton Grand Tbilisi Metechi Palace,” the official statement of the Council of Europe says.
A total of nine teams will be deployed by the mission in various cities and rural areas of Georgia.
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities has conducted almost 100 election observation missions since 1990.
Overall 71 local and 33 international organisations will observe the elections in the country in three days.
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.
Our primary goal is to ensure safe environment for free and fair elections, which are essential for Georgia and its European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has tweeted.
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.
Political parties in Georgia spent over 11 million GEL between August 2 and September 12, says the interim report on the October 2 local self-government elections published by the State Audit Office of Georgia.
“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 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.
Eleven days are left until the October 2 municipal elections in Georgia when voters will elect 64 mayors and 2,068 members in 64 city councils. The lead up to the elections has been marked by the ruling party’s withdrawal from the April 19 EU-mediated agreement, an attack on journalists by right-wing activists in July during Tbilisi Pride events, the recent leak of alleged personal files and continued vows of Georgia’s ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili that he will return.
Georgia is holding municipal elections today. Voters will elect 2,068 members of 64 city assemblies and 64 mayors.They will receive three different ballot papers at the polling station.43 political parties have been registered for the October 2 elections.A total of 3,743 polling stations have been established in 73 election constituencies (including nine polling stations in prisons and 70 special polling stations for the individuals who are in self-isolation because of coronavirus).
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has met with a delegation of MEPs ahead of the October 30 self-government election run-offs and spoken of the Georgian government’s determination to hold the second round of elections in a free and fair environment.