International Republican Institute (IRI) is launching an international observation mission of the October 26 parliamentary elections in Georgia.
Based on the information released by the organization, taking into account the long-term relationship with the electoral and political actors, as well as with the international community, 20 long-term observers of IRI will cover electoral districts throughout the country a few months before the elections.
Based on their information, all parties involved in the election processes are open to the presence of an international observation mission in the country.
“Observers will start their activities before the start of the election campaign. This will allow the mission to better understand the context of these elections, while working with political and electoral stakeholders to support an inclusive and transparent electoral process,” said Stephen Nix, Director of IRI’s Eurasia Division.
According to the organization, these elections will be a decisive moment for Georgian democracy.
“The need for a transparent and reliable election process, which will give citizens a variety of choices, is one of the 9 reservations issued by the European Union to Georgia, which the country received at the end of 2023, after being granted the status of a candidate country of the European Union,” the information says.
In addition, as Nix said, the Georgian government has the opportunity to give priority to election transparency and ensure that Georgia conducts reliable elections free from all kinds of pressure and physical obstacles.
Taking into account all this, these elections will be a test for Georgia’s democratic path”, said Nix.
For information, the IRI observation mission will be conducted in accordance with the Declaration on Principles of International Observation and the Code of Conduct for International Observers. The recommendations and conclusions issued as a result of the observation will be based on the legislation of Georgia, international standards and the obligations that the political parties recognize within the code of conduct. For more than 20 years, the “International Republican Institute” has been supporting political, electoral and civic activities in Georgia, which aim to support political parties in the development of a content-based platform and messages, to promote the inclusion of vulnerable groups in the political decision-making process, to increase access to methodologically sound and quality research and to citizen To encourage a focused governance process.
