EU, US embassies praise ‘well-administered’ Georgian municipal race, regret polarisation, alleged violations
The EU and US embassies have called on the Georgian parliament to pass more laws, in line with international recommendations, to further improve the country’s electoral environment. Photo: AP.
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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 embassies regretted ‘widespread and consistent allegations’ of intimidation, vote-buying, pressure on candidates and voters and stated that a ‘significant imbalance’ in resources and an ‘undue advantage of incumbency’ further benefited the ruling party.
The Delegation of the European Union, in coordination with the embassies of the Member States of the European Union, issues the following comments on 3 October 2021, after the first round of the 2021 local elections in Georgia https://t.co/mX2bmISt0F pic.twitter.com/eEOS04MFvc
— EU Delegation Georgia ???????? (@EUinGeorgia) October 3, 2021
They praised legal, electoral amendments adopted in the run-up to the elections which ‘substantially improved the legal framework,’ and called on the Georgian parliament and parties to take steps for the full implementation of OSCE/ODIHR previous recommendations.
U.S. Embassy Statement on 2021 Georgian Municipal Elections https://t.co/k0iSly2wDm
— U.S. Embassy Tbilisi (@usingeo) October 4, 2021
We call on parliament, including opposition parties, to recommit in good faith to strengthening Georgia's election system in a comprehensive manner, to implement key reforms, including judicial reforms, recommended by ODIHR, the Venice Commission, and Georgia's international partners and to pass constitutional amendments ensuring that all future parliamentary elections will be fully proportional,” said the US embassy.
The embassy stated that now it is time for Georgian parties to give up rivalry and ‘urgently address the issues’ that are most important to Georgia's citizens.
The embassies said that they were ‘proud’ to stand alongside the Georgian people and support the country’s democratic development.
The local municipal elections in Georgia yesterday has received high international attention which was monitored by 1,024 foreign observers from 52 international organisations. Various foreign ambassadors to Georgia has visited election precincts in the country and offices of local NGOs observing the elections and carrying out parallel counting.
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.’
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.
“Georgia’s local elections were competitive and technically well administered, but marred by widespread allegations of electoral violations, vote-buying, and an unlevel playing field, as well as intimidation and pressure”, the international observers have stated today.
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.’
US Senator Jeanne Shaheen says that she was happy that the Georgian October 2 municipal election day was ‘well-administered and peaceful,’ but added that elections are not only about election day itself.
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.’
Political movement Droa leader Elene Khoshtaria and leader of the opposition Lelo for Georgia party Mamuka Khazaradze have signed a coalition cooperation document earlier today ahead of municipal election run-offs slated for October 30.
US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan has delivered a speech in celebration of 30 years of diplomatic relations between Georgia and the US at the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia earlier today. Ambassador Degnan reaffirmed that Georgia and the US are "strategic partners," and the US is "very proud" to be assisting Georgia in strengthening democracy.