Need for agreement between political parties to overcome current crisis and continue the reform process
Letter by Georgian CSOs urging all political parties to reach an agreement in the next round of mediation to overcome the political stalemate. Dear Sirs and Madams, We have closely followed and observed the political developments of the last few months that you have been part of in Georgia. It is clear for everyone that the […]
Assessment of the 2021 electoral reform
Electoral reform represents one part of the action plan proposed by international partners to resolve the political crisis in Georgia which arose following the October 2020 parliamentary elections. To complement this international effort, International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) and Transparency International Georgia have issued recommendations and a detailed joint assessment of electoral […]
Stop the pressure against ISFED!
Statement by ISFED: The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) would like to respond to the accusations voiced by the Chairman of Georgian Dream party, Irakli Kobakhidze regarding alleged falsification of the Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) results that was once again reiterated after an unsuccessful end of the EU-mediated dialogue between the ruling […]
Review of 2020 parliamentary election PVT confirms numerous discrepancies at polling stations
The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) conducted a review of its parallel vote tabulation (PVT) of the 2020 parliamentary election in Georgia, confirming its finding that at 8% of polling stations the number of ballots cast exceeded the number of voters who voted according to the summary protocols. ISFED’s review additionally found […]
Post-Election political standstill, flawed electoral complaint practices, and the one-party parliament
Opposition supporters attend a rally against the results of a parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia November 14, 2020. Source: REUTERS /Irakli Gedenidze Second Round of Elections On 21 November, Georgia held the runoff in 17 single mandate constituencies. The opposition candidates withdrew from the contest and did not run electoral campaigns. However, their names […]
Post-Election political standstill, flawed electoral complaint practices, and the one-party parliament
The second round of elections cemented the victory of the Georgian Dream (GD). Despite the opposition boycotting the elections, violations persisted. The first session of the Parliament convened in absence of the opposition and parties saw some annulling of their mandates. The DG pledge for an early election if there was one percent deviation in […]
UPDATE: Results of parallel vote tabulation
The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) conducted a preliminary, internal audit of the results of the parallel vote tabulation (PVT) of the October 31 Parliamentary elections. The internal audit is a standard procedure and consists of four stages: 1. Audit of data sent by observers; 2. checking changes to the PEC protocols […]
Parliamentary election a step backwards in terms of democratic elections
Preliminary Central Election Commission results showed Georgian Dream dominating in all 17 districts. Source: rferl.org International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) was monitoring parliamentary election runoffs in 17 majoritarian districts through 35 mobile teams. At the second round of the elections, held without any real competition, coordinators mobilized outside election precincts continued […]
Second round taking place amid a political crisis
Rally in Tbilisi calling for a snap election, 15.11.2020. Source: europost.eu International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) will monitor the second round of the 2020 Parliamentary Elections of Georgia to be held on November 21 in 17 majoritarian districts through 35 mobile groups. In view of the non-competitive election environment and dramatic […]
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) […]