As a result of fighting in South Ossetia, the Russian incursion, and the 1994 conflict with Abkhazia 247,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) exist in Georgia. Aside from resettlement solutions and provision of aid, the problem of civil registration looms large for upcoming local elections scheduled to take place on November 4, 2008.

Lack of civil registration often complicates another problem with democratic governance, that of voter registration. As seen in many transitional countries in which IFES works (Iraq, Kyrgyz Republic, Armenia), voter registration is a basic human right and a fundamental issue with no long-term solution.

For the November 4th elections, IFES is working with electoral authorities in the regional Adjaran capital of Batumi and the Central Election Commission (CEC) in Tbilisi to train members of local Election Management Bodies (EMBs) to ensure elections are transparent and conform to international standards of fairness and equal competition. IFES is also working with stakeholders on election law reform and electoral boundary delimitation, which have taken on added urgency in aftermath of the recent conflict.

For the 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections held earlier this year, IFES sent experts to Tbilisi to determine the optimal way to use technology to capture all eligible voters in the voter rolls. IFES worked with the CEC and the Civil Registry Agency (CRA) on a long-term project to improve the system of voter registration. An option of increasing success, as seen in Armenia, is the use of SMS messaging to confirm current registration status. This was used in some regions of Georgia, though it still required voters not on the lists to go and register at their nearest polling station.

The onus, however, remains on the government to actively pursue civil and voter registration while providing basic humanitarian relief to IDPs during times of crisis by creating special districts or incorporating them into existing districts. Election laws must account for time required to organize, educate and motivate voters prior to holding an election in a post-conflict situation. All these factors prevail in Georgia for the upcoming local elections in Adjara and some districts surrounding Tbilisi.

The IDP issue does not have easy solutions, but every effort to re-integrate internally displaced persons into society will, little-by-little, help them regain a sense of freedom and belonging.