OSCE/ODIHR: Georgian municipal elections ‘generally well-administered’
OSCE/ODIHR has released its preliminary findings on the October 2 municipal elections in Georgia.
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The OSCE/ODIHR mission, which has monitored the October 2 municipal elections in Georgia, says that the elections ‘were generally well-administered but held against the backdrop of a protracted political crisis and characterised by hardened polarisation.’
In its preliminary findings released earlier today, OSCE/ODIHR says that contestants were able ‘to campaign freely in a competitive environment’ that was, however, ‘marred by wide-spread and consistent allegations of intimidation, vote-buying, pressure on candidates and voters, and an unlevel playing field.’
OSCE/ODIHR: Georgian local “elections were generally well-administered but held against the backdrop of a protracted political crisis and characterized by hardened polarization. Contestants were able to campaign freely in a competitive environment”.
— Georgian Dream (@GeorgianDream41) October 3, 2021
Doc: https://t.co/UTsonrlZ9B pic.twitter.com/UI1rzNYxZO
The report says that the election day was ‘generally calm and orderly’, with some isolated violent incidents.
Election day proceeded in an orderly and transparent manner, despite some procedural issues, particularly during counting, however, the pervasive misuse of citizen observers as party representatives, at times interfering with the process, and groups of individuals potentially influencing voters outside some polling stations were of concern,” said the report.
It stated that the election administration managed the technical aspects of the process efficiently and complied with legal deadlines, amid adjustments made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CEC sessions were open to stakeholders, and also streamed live for the first time, contributing to transparency,” said the report.
???????? მხარს უჭერს ეუთო/ოდირის შეფასებას, რომ ???????? არჩევნები კარგად იყო ადმინისტრირებული და ჩატარდა კონკურენტუნარიან გარემოში, თუმცა დარღვევების შესახებ ბრალდებებმა პროცესი დააზიანა. ეს ხარვეზები უნდა აღმოიფხვრას. იმედი გვაქვს, ყველა პოლიტიკური პარტია ჩაერთვება მე 2 ტურებში.
— UK in Georgia (@UKinGeorgia) October 3, 2021
OSCE/ODIHR believes that the legal framework in Georgia is ‘generally conducive to democratic elections’ and preparations for the elections were ‘transparent and professionally managed’.
The report stated that the diverse media landscape was ‘highly polarised and provided little analytical reporting and selective coverage, limiting the voters’ ability to make an informed choice, and cases of intimidation and violence against journalists were of concern.
It noted that ‘significant imbalance in resources, insufficient oversight of campaign finances and an undue advantage of incumbency’ further benefited the ruling party.
The underrepresentation of women in the campaign demonstrates a need for greater commitment to ensure adequate representation in politics,” OSCE/ODIHR said.
It stated that ethnic minority issues did not feature heavily in the election campaign, and national minorities remained underrepresented compared to their population size.
The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) has released the results of a parallel vote tabulation (PVT) of the proportional elections for Tbilisi and regional cities, which says that the ruling Georgian Dream party received 46.6% of the vote, while the United National Movement received 31.1% of the vote.
A second round of mayoral elections are expected in all five big cities of Georgia, including Tbilisi, as none of the candidates received at least 50% + 1 of the vote.Municipal elections are held in Georgia per a mixed electoral system. Voters have to fill three ballot papers: the first ballot paper is for mayoral candidates (which are elected per a 50%+1 system). The winner is the candidate who will receive at least 50%+1 of the vote, otherwise a second round of elections will be held).
Incumbent Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze says that he expected victory in the first round of yesterday’s municipal elections, but says he is sure he will be victorious in the second round.
A second round of municipal elections in Georgia will be held on October 30 as some candidates did not receive enough votes to overcome the mandatory threshold, including in Tbilisi, based on the preliminary results of the Central Election Commission (CEC).
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili says that the local elections in Georgia were ‘calm, fair, secure, and competitive’ without significant violations despite the difficult political and polarised electoral environment.
The EU and US embassies have assessed the October 2 municipal elections in Georgia and stated that the race was generally well administered, but was characterised by ‘hardened polarisation.’ They agreed with the preliminary findings of the OSCE/ODIHR and said that the contestants were able to campaign freely in a competitive environment, and that the election day proceeded in an orderly and transparent manner.
The Council of Europe's Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, which observed the recent municipal elections in Georgia between September 29 and October 3, says that the election day on October 2 was ‘overall calm, orderly, transparent and well organised without major shortcomings.’
US Senator Jim Risch says that he is disappointed by the October 2 municipal elections in Georgia. He said that he is ‘troubled by extensive reports’ of intimidation and vote-buying.
MEPs Marina Kaljurand, Sven Mikser and Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, who observed the October 2 local municipal elections in Georgia, have stated that the country held a competitive and well-organised first round of local elections ‘despite the extremely polarised political environment and challenging epidemiological situation.’
The Georgian Central Election Commission (CEC) says that the October 2 municipal elections in Georgia have been held in line with democratic standards and that they have taken all measures to prevent imbalances between ballots cast and signatures of registered voters.
The Georgian Central Election Commission (CEC) has recounted votes in 812 of 3,664 district election commissions following the October 2 municipal elections because of complaints and according to recent legal changes which oblige the CEC to recount a certain number of votes to recheck their validity.
Transparency International Georgia, which filed 42 complaints and seven lawsuits on and after the October 2 municipal elections, reports that neither district election commissions nor courts have upheld any significant complaints. The organisation, which monitored the elections with the help of 300 observers, notes that the district election commissions and courts upheld just four complaints and one lawsuit seeking disciplinary actions against some of the election administration representatives.
Chairwoman of the Georgian Parliament’s EU integration committee, Maka Bochorishvili, says MEPs will observe the municipal election run-offs in Georgia on October 30. Bochorishvili, from the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, stated earlier today that MEPs are expecting the run-offs to proceed ‘according to international standards.’
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe issued recommendations following the October 2021 local elections in Georgia on Wednesday, saying the elections were technically well-organised, but marked by an unlevel playing field.
The recommendations and findings, as well as their implementation, reflected in the final report on the 2021 municipal elections of the election observation mission of the OSCE office for democratic institutions and human rights, were discussed on Tuesday by the head of the mission Albert Jonsson and the head of the central election commission Giorgi Kalandarishvili.