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.