Public outcry and excessive use of force amid flawed Parliamentary Elections
In our latest policy alert, we analyse how District Election Commissions failed to adequately respond to the substantive violations detected in the summary protocols aggravating public distrust over the electoral process. This, and other recorded violations sparked a public outcry calling for the resignation of the Chairman of the Central Election Commission and snap elections. […]
Public outcry and excessive use of force amid flawed Parliamentary Elections
Georgian police uses water cannon to disperse protesters in front of the Central Election Commission (CEC) building in Tbilisi, Georgia, 8 November 2020. Source: euractiv.com [Zurab Kurtsikidze/EPA/EFE]. The District Election Commissions (DECs) have been accused of failing to adequately administer the vote count during the 2020 Georgian Parliamentary Elections. The Parallel Vote Counting (PVT) […]
International mediation needed to resolve post-election crisis in Georgia
Thousands of people marched through Tbilisi rejecting parliamentary election results, 07.11.2020. Source: bbc.com (Reuters) EPDE member International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), along with other election watchdog organizations, call for international mediation before the political deadlock increases ahead of the second round of the parliamentary election in Georgia. District election commissions must […]
Complaints filed by ISFED seeking recount of election precinct results
Immediately after the parliamentary elections were finished, due to imbalance and overwritten data in summary protocols, ISFED applied to 44 DECs requesting revision of voting results at 162 PECs (recount of results). Majority of the complaints were rejected as baseless or left without consideration on the grounds that they were filed by unauthorized individuals. Among […]
NGOs call for recount of votes in polling stations with recorded discrepancies
Supporters of the ex-President Mikhail Saakashvili’s United National Movement protest the election results in front of parliament in Tbilisi, Sunday, 1 Nov. 2020. Source: apnews.com Statement by Georgian NGOs: On October 31, 2020, the parliamentary elections were held in Georgia in accordance with the updated electoral system. The citizens of Georgia had the opportunity […]
Results of parallel vote tabulation
The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) monitored the October 31, 2020 Parliamentary Elections in all electoral districts around Georgia. ISFED Election Day Observation Mission consisted of around 1000 accredited and trained observers deployed to polling stations, 73 observers deployed at district electoral commissions and 78 mobile groups. ISFED also operated PVT and […]
Voting process and closing of polling stations
Photo: globaltimes.cn (VCG) The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) is monitoring the October 31, 2020 Parliamentary Elections in all electoral districts around Georgia. ISFED Election Day Observation Mission consists of around 1000 accredited and trained observers deployed to polling stations, 73 observers deployed at district electoral commissions and 78 mobile groups. ISFED […]
Joint assessment of pre-election environment
BRIEF SUMMARY, FULL ASSESSMENT AVAILABLE BELOW In a joint statement, the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), Transparency International Georgia, and The Georgian Charter of Journalistic Ethics reported on the pre-election environment and preparations for the Election Day of Georgia’s parliamentary elections this Saturday, 31 October. COVID19 and CEC response The Georgian organizations […]
Georgia to investigate physical attacks and intimidation of political party candidates, women, and journalists
Destroyed campaign material of Independent candidate Anna Dolidze. Souce: Twitter of Anna Dolidze Georgia’s 2020 pre-election period has been marked with an extreme level of polarization compared to previous period. Polarization has been a constant feature in Georgian politics undermining usual political competition and electoral processes capitalizing on vilification and intimidation of political opponents.[1]The […]
Georgia to investigate physical attacks and intimidation of political party candidates, women, and journalists
Georgia’s 2020 Parliamentary pre-election period is marked with high polarization amid constantly emerging allegations of physical violence and intimidation against political party candidates and its supporters. Orchestrated attacks include threats against journalists, who are being unlawfully prevented from doing their job, and intimidation of female candidates disproportionately targeted based on their gender.