Repeat Parliamentary Elections, 28 March 2004

In response to an invitation from Georgia's Central Election Commission, ODIHR deployed an election observation mission on 15 February to observe the repeat parliamentary elections on 28 March.

Headed by Amb. Michael Wygant of the United States, the mission included 13 international staff based at the Tbilisi head office and 27 long-term observers deployed throughout the country. 

On election day, the mission was joined by representatives of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the European Parliament. Together, some 440 short-term observers from 43 OSCE participating States were deployed.

According to the mission's final report: "The 28 March partial repeat parliamentary elections in Georgia during the pre-election period demonstrated notable progress and were the most democratic since independence. In this respect, the election process was brought in closer alignment with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections. However, developments during the post-election period, including irregularities observed during the tabulation of results, implausible voter turnout, the mishandling of some complaints and the selective cancellation of election results posed a challenge to the integrity of election results in some districts.

"The political will of the Georgian authorities to address shortcomings in the electoral process will be increasingly tested in a more competitive and pluralistic political environment. Therefore, future elections will be more genuine indicators of Georgia’s commitment to democratic elections.

"Conditions in the Autonomous Republic of Adjara were once again not conducive to democratic elections. Intimidation and physical abuse of opposition supporters and journalists underlined the democratic deficit in Adjara evident during this election process, effectively creating a dual standard for elections in Georgia."