OSCE/ODIHR opens observation mission for the parliamentary elections in Georgia

TBILISI, 30 August 2016 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today formally opened an election observation mission for the 8 October parliamentary elections in Georgia. The mission’s deployment follows an official invitation from the Georgian authorities.

The mission is led by Ambassador Alexandre Keltchewsky and consists of a core team of 12 experts based in Tbilisi and 26 long-term observers to be deployed in teams of two across the country. In addition, ODIHR will request 350 short-term observers to monitor proceedings on election day. The experts and observers are drawn from 18 OSCE participating States.

The mission will assess the parliamentary elections for compliance with OSCE commitments and other international standards and obligations for democratic elections, as well as with domestic legislation. Observers will follow the candidate registration process, campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant state bodies, implementation of the legal framework and the resolution of election disputes. As part of the observation, the mission will also monitor the media coverage of the campaign.

In the course of its observation, the mission will meet with representatives of relevant authorities, political parties, civil society, the media and the international community.

On election day, observers will monitor the opening of polling stations, voting, the counting of ballots and the tabulation of results. For election day, the mission plans to join efforts with a delegation from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the European Parliament (EP), among other parliamentary partners.

A statement of preliminary findings and conclusions will be issued on the day after the election. A final report on the observation of the entire election process and including recommendations will be published approximately two months after the completion of the election process.

For further information, please contact Pietro Tesfamariam, Media Analyst with the election observation mission, at:  +995 599 529 822 (Tbilisi mobile), or pietro.tesfamariam@odihr.ge.