Georgian Election Commission Chair, USAID Mission Director review reform
Kalandarishvili also reviewed activities for improving the administration’s communication with parties involved in elections. Photo: CEC of Georgia
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Georgia’s electoral reform was discussed on Monday in a meeting between Giorgi Kalandarishvili, the Chair of the Central Election Commission, and John Pennell, the Mission Director for the United States Agency for International Development in the Caucasus.
The officials reviewed the ongoing implementation of electronic technology in the voting process, challenges and needs of the election administration, as well as the midterm elections scheduled for spring, the press office of the CEC said.
Kalandarishvili also reviewed activities for improving the administration’s communication with parties involved in elections.
He said strengthening cooperation with international partners was a “priority” for the body, and added deepening ties with USAID would have a “beneficial effect on the election process”.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Tuesday submitted a list of candidates for the positions of the head and member of the Central Election Commission to the Parliament and announced a competition for one position.
Georgian Parliament on Thursday failed to elect the Chair and members of the country’s Central Election Commission after the candidates proposed by President Salome Zourabichvili did not receive support from MPs.
The evaluations of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe on electoral amendments implemented by Georgian authorities with the goal of gaining the European Union membership candidate status are “clearly positive”, Givi Mikanadze, a ruling Georgian Dream party MP, said on Monday.
Cooperation between the Georgian parliament and the United States Agency for International Development was discussed on Wednesday in a meeting between the speaker of the Georgian legislative body Shalva Papuashvili and John Pennell, the newly appointed mission director for USAID in the Caucasus.
Tea Akhvlediani, the Georgian State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality on Friday briefed John Pennell, the Mission Director of the United States Agency for International Development, on the activities and results of the State Minister’s Office in 2022.
Georgia’s election administration will launch a “large-scale” public information campaign starting next week to raise awareness among voters to the newly introduced technology ahead of the upcoming 2024 Parliamentary Elections.
The prospects of the existing and future cooperation, including in trade and economics, were reviewed on Thursday by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Erin McKee, the Assistant Administrator in the Bureau for Europe and Eurasia at USAID.