Young people do not see an acceptable alternative for them in the existing political spectrum, their participation in the elections may decrease, – the report of the pre-election delegation of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) states.
Based on the document, young people are particularly disappointed with the current political spectrum in the country.”Young people are particularly disappointed with the current political spectrum in the country. In a survey conducted by NDI in October 2023, only 20% of the 18-34 age group said that there is at least one party in the country that represents their interests. In addition, only 9% of the mentioned age category evaluates the work of the Parliament positively, and 37% negatively. Since young people do not see an acceptable alternative for them in the existing political spectrum, their participation in the elections may decrease,” the document states.The report was prepared by the international monitoring delegation of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), which visited Georgia on February 19-25, before the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 2024. The mentioned elections are the first elections for Georgia after receiving the status of EU membership candidate;
In addition, for the first time, elections will be held with a new electoral system, which involves the distribution of parliamentary mandates by proportional representation and the indirect election of the president. New technologies will also be widely used on election day. The delegation aimed at an impartial and accurate assessment of the general political environment in the country for the parliamentary elections, a review of the current pre-election processes, as well as the development of recommendations to promote more inclusive, transparent and accountable election processes, and to demonstrate the international community’s support for credible elections and democratic governance in Georgia.The members of the delegation were: An Linde, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden; Per Eklund, former head of the EU delegation in Georgia; Michael Posner, former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the United States Department of State; Daniel Gottfried, Legislative and Policy Analyst, Office of the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Eva Busha, Regional Director of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) Eurasia; and Richard Klein, director of election programs at the National Democratic Institute (NDI).
Related story: NDI Pre-Election Delegation Report: Recent changes to Electoral Code don’t comply with recommendations