IFES has helped nongovernmental organizations in Georgia draft an opinion paper and conduct outreach on the draft election code. Tornike Zurabashvili
Georgians are preparing for a dynamic one-year run-up to the parliamentary elections. Although technical preparation for Election Day has yet to formally begin, a draft election code that will have powerful implications for Georgia’s electoral climate has been submitted for analysis to the Venice Commission.
In order to promote inclusiveness and increase voter awareness of the draft election code review process, IFES supported three Georgian organizations to formulate an opinion paper on the new draft code through the Increased Trust in the Electoral Process (ITEP) program. Current efforts include regional outreach and cooperation with local media outlets to publicize the opinion paper.
Building upon a successful outreach campaign from 20-21 October, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy and Transparency International Georgia met with nearly 70 citizens in Kutaisi and Batumi, including representatives from media outlets, non-profit organizations, political parties and election commission members to discuss electoral reform.
With IFES support, the organizations participated in two television talk shows focusing on election code reform, which aired in Kutaisi and Batumi.
The organizations highlighted key issues from their opinion paper, such as election administration, dispute resolution, punitive measures for violations, political finance, using administrative resources, the election system and the voter list.
The paper detailed progress on certain issues like simplifying registration procedures for observer organizations and improvements of the appeals process and political finance regulation. However, the paper asserts that issues of principal importance, such as the electoral system, are in need of further discussion.
During this critical period, IFES will continue to support local partners in their efforts to engage Georgians through regional outreach initiatives, meet with the Venice Commission delegation and draft recommendations to the Parliament of Georgia.