9.06.2008

IATF Letter
2008 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN GEORGIA

IATF Reflections on the Preliminary Statement

19.05.2008

RESPONSE OF THE INTER-AGENCY TASK FORCE FOR FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS TO THE OSCE/ODIHR EOM INTERIM REPORT No. 2

2008 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN GEORGIA

22.04.2008

Statement of the members of the Inter-Agency Task Force For Free and Fair Elections, Minister of Justice Mr. Nika Gvaramia and State Minister on Regional Coordination Issues Mr. Davit Tkeshelashvili

Dear Friends,

We are informing you that due to the start of the election campaign we have decided to leave the Task Force. The decision is motivated by the fact that we, as political officials who are not legally prohibited from participating in the pre-election campaign, consider that our membership may raise questions as to the impartiality of the Task Force. Therefore, in order not to violate the most important principle of the Task Force – Impartiality -- we have left the Task Force starting from the official date when the election campaign commenced (April 21).

We hope that the group will successfully continue its work and substantially promote the holding of free and fair elections.

07.04.2008

First IATF working meeting with representatives of NGOs, international organizations, and the Ombudsman’s Office
Agreements reached on first initiatives

The first working meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force for Free and Fair Elections (IATF) took place on 7 April. Participants included representatives of NGOs (GYLA, ISFED, NGNI, Transparency International Georgia), international organizations (OSCE Mission in Georgia,  National Democratic Institute, US Embassy),  as well as representatives of the Ombudsman’s Office. The meeting was dedicated to discussing initiatives that will help create the proper environment for free and fair elections. Specifically, it was agreed that IATF will approach the Central Election Commission (CEC) with the following recommendations:

1. Instructions concerning the use of administrative resources must be elaborated in cooperation with the NGOs. It is important for these instructions to be clear and easily understandable for all individuals, including those without specific education in the field of law. The instructions, once enumerated, will be distributed among civil servants and implemented practically.
2. Instructions concerning the legal procedure for filing complaints must be worked out in cooperation with the NGOs. Instructions must include a clear scheme of the instances and deadlines for initiating complaints. These instructions are crucial for clarifying all of the procedural issues related to complaints and for avoiding different interpretations of the rules.

The 4 April statement by the Ombudsman of Georgia regarding the 5 January presidential elections was discussed at the meeting. Minister of Justice Nika Gvaramia stated that IATF is interested in the issues raised in the Ombudsman’s statement.  Although the materials mentioned by the Ombudsman have never been presented to the Ministry of Justice or IATF, the minister asks the Ombudsman to send these materials to the Office of the Prosecutor General. 

At the briefing held after the meeting, Minister of Justice Nika Gvaramia turned his attention to the Prosecutor’s Office, asking it on behalf of the NGOs to publicly present information about its response to alleged electoral violations. The Minister also provided information about the IATF meeting and stressed that the IATF will inform the public about its ongoing work in a systematic manner.

14.04.2008

On April 14, the Inter-Agency Task Force For Free and Fair Elections (IATF) held a meeting with NGOs (GYLA, ISFED, NGNI, Transparency International Georgia), international organizations (National Democratic Institute, Council of Europe Special Representative, International Republican Institute), and representatives from the U.S. Embassy. The Chairman of the Central Election Commission, Levan Tarkhnishvili, and Head of the Civil Registry Agency, Giorgi Vashadze, also attended the meeting.

During the meeting, participants discussed instructions elaborated by the CEC and NGOs regarding the use of administrative resources in the election campaign. It was noted that agreement has been reached on almost all issues regarding interpretation of the norms related to the abuse of administrative resources, although a few issues remain under discussion. Presumably the document will be signed by the CEC and NGOs this week. Adoption of the document is extremely important and relevant to the election process, as it will be duly distributed among election commissions at all levels, civil servants, and society.

The NGOs and CEC representatives have also agreed to seek agreement on instructions related to the interpretation of complaints procedures, and will try to finalize the document this week so that it can be used for the trainings in the election administrations.

A long discussion on the voter lists took place during the meeting. The Minister of Justice and the Head of the Civil Registry Agency presented the results of a comparison of the CEC voter list and CRA list. The comparison had revealed some inaccuracies in the list, and the Chairman of the CEC expressed his readiness to remove these inaccuracies as soon as possible.

Violations from the January 5 presidential election and allegations of the Public Defender were also discussed. It was clarified that an investigation is pending ongoing on these cases.

The Code of Conduct agreed upon by the campaigning parties was debated. It was noted that NDI and the IATF might cooperate regarding the fulfillment of the Code of Conduct.

19.01.2008

Information Note by the Government of Georgia about the Third Interim Report of the OSCE/ODHIR Mission to observe the Extraordinary Presidential Elections >>>

14.01.2008

Official Results in Comparison w/Parallel Vote Tabulations, Opinion Polling & Exit Polls >>>

11.01.2008

Summaries of Reports by International, Domestic Election Observers & Official Results >>>

9.01.2008

FINANCIAL TIMES Quentin Peel on Georgia >>>

Georgia Update CHANGES TO ELECTION CODE (January 3) >>>

Georgia Update ELECTION MEASURES (January 3) >>>

ISFED_Statement ENG >>>

Media Advisory Greenberg on Georgia >>>

Patarkatsishvili Update (January 3) >>>

Press release on Georgia survey >>>

SILK ROAD Report on Georgia >>>

THE WASHINGTON POST Georgia Article (January 2) >>>

6.01.2008

Report on Presidential Elections in Georgia

http://www.eesc.lt/en/news/new?id=52

Lithuanian Eastern Europe Studies Centre (EESC) has been registered by a Decree No 231/2007 of Georgian Central Election Commission on 26 December, 2007 as an international observers' organization. 93 representatives of various Lithuanian youth organisations (the students of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science, Vilnius University and representatives of Young Conservatives League, Lithuanian Liberal Youth, Lithuanian Union of Social Democratic Youth, Lithuanian North Atlantic Treaty Association and Lithuanian Youth Council) were assigned as international observers and posted to 9 towns of Georgia (Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Telavi, Batumi, Gori, Khashuri, Kareli, Rustavi and Tbilisi). More than 50 poling stations have been observed by the observers of EESC during the election day.

The key objective of the EESC at the Georgian Presidential elections was to observe the election, to undertake an analysis of the election process, to provide an impartial assessment of the election and support consolidation of the democracy in . This final report of the EESC represents the election - day observations and assessments of the EESC observers.
The overall observations made by EESC representatives allow to declare Georgian Presidential elections being well managed and conducted following the procedures of democratic elections. Polling took place in a peaceful environment and well arranged election framework. Despite fears of some opposition about possible violations of the democratic election procedures it could be stated that the election fully corresponded to the democratic standards.

Activity of the voters was rather high and consistent, observations of the polling stations with the EESC representatives indicated that before 12:00 a.m. in the majority of those polling station average percentage of those who already voted varied from 10 to 15 %. At the end of the election overall average turnout was 56.3 % (with the dispersion from 46 % to 74.48 % in different polling stations).

The observers of EESC have stated that in all polling stations were at least one independent observer, in some the number of independent observers reaching to ten and more. In their polling stations EESC observers worked together with the other observers from national (New Generation New Initiatives, Georgian Young Lawyers Association, Centre for Public Research, International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), Union of Professional Unions of Georgia, Democratic Principles and Human Rights Defence Union of Georgia, Union "Ratio Legi”, Free Professional Union of Pedagogues and Scientists of Georgia) and international (Embassy of the United States of America, Congress of the United States of America, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), International Center of Election Systems (ICES), European Council, Embassy of Ukraine, International Republican Institute (IRI), European Union, Estonian Parliament) organizations of the observers. Although in general there were no serious violations of the electoral procedures, EESC observers have pointed several technical breaches of the electoral rules.

1. EESC observed some cases of campaigning during election - day, both outside and inside polling stations, which might have not always created the optimal environment for voters.
2. Some of the polling stations have been up to a half an hour late to open for the voting.
3. Due to the sometimes not very even flow of the voters there have been observed several accidents of not a proper marking or checking of the marking. However as those defects were taken into consideration and solved immediately after the notice of the observers they are not be considered as serious breaches of the electoral procedures.
4. In a few polling stations it was observed that several old people were voting collectively.
5. In one of the polling station there was a suspicion of the double voting of several people. Some attempted cases were confirmed (e.g. New Rights member in Gori).
6. During the vote counting procedure in one of the polling stations the electricity went down for several minutes and it generated the discussion on the possibility of additional ballots inserted into the ballot box, however after the check none of the breaches were confirmed.

Despite those several rather technical violations of the electoral procedures, which could not have any significant impact on the overall results of the elections, EESC admits that Georgian Presidential elections were well managed, free, fair and conducted following the democratic standards.

6.01.2008

Statements of international monitors of the Georgian Presidential Election

1. Manfred Grund, parliamentary party faction leader of the German Christian Democrats to Deutsche Presse-Agentur:
"So far I've had the impression that the elections have been well prepared and that they are more or less following European normality. I don't have any question marks at the moment.”

2. Representative Alcee L. Hastings, Democrat of Florida, who led the observer mission for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to The New York Times:
“Everywhere I went today, I have seen no evidence of systematic fraud.”

3. Declaration of Members of Estonian Parliamentary Observers Delegation

We, members of parliament of Estonia, have been invited to observe Presidential Elections of Georgia on 5th of January in 2008 by the Central Election Commission of Georgia.

Georgia has stepped a long way in the path of Democracy.

After having observed elections in several regions polling stations and followed the overall path of elections we consider that those elections have been been carried ouit in free and fair manner altough there have been some minor allegations in technical matters.

We observed elections in more than 50 polling stations in regions including Tbilisi, Borjomi, South-Ossetia, Batumi, Upper-Abkhazia and Bolnisi.

We call everybody to recognize the results of democratic process of yesterdays elections.

Members of Estonian Parliament,

Urmas Reinsalu
Margus Tsahkna
Ken-Marti Vaher
Vaino Linde
Indrek Saar
Tonis Koiv
Imre Sooaar
Silver Meikar
Taavi Roivas
Kalev Kotkas
Helmer Jogi
Mati Raidma

4. Statement of the Group of the Members of the Seimas (Parliament) of the Republic of Lithuania

Group of the Members of the Lithuanian Parliament took part on 5 January 2008 in observation of the Georgian Presidential elections in Upper Abhazia, Tskhinvali Region, Gori and Tbilisi.

Lithuanian parliamentarians welcome, that despite the highly polarized political environment, all necessary conditions were established for free expression of the voters' political will, and the international standards for the democratic elections were met.

They invite all political forces in Georgia to recognize results of the democratic elections.

They express support to Georgia's political and economic reforms and Euro-Atlantic integration efforts.

6 January 2008

Members of the Seimas (Parliament) of the Republic of Lithuania:

Heraikles Zukauskas
Jomas Cekuolis
Jadvyga Zinkeviciute
Emanuelis Ziugeris

3.01.2008

International Observers Arive in Georgia

"Regardless of the Government's initiative to agree on single rules of the game regarding the elections and the day of announcing the elections results, sadly, the opposition still continues threatening and calls for manifestations after the Election Day. Thus, we reaffirm that threatening and calls to go out to streets do not contribute to the creation of healthy and competitive election environment," said Chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force, Eka Tkeshelashvili at the January 3 press conference.

At the press conference Justice Minister Tkeshelashvili also informed the public of the arrival of OSCE and Parliamentary Assembly of the European Council observers in Georgia who will actively monitor the election process on-site. At this moment over 800 international observers have already arrived in Georgia and the number will increase before the elections.

2.01.2008

Secrecy of Vote Guaranteed

"Calm at election precincts on the Election Day is of vital importance for the conduct of fair elections and for enabling people to freely express their will. Hence, the initiative of a candidate of the political movement Freedom to mobilize activists at precincts on the grounds to protect the precincts, raises concern," stated Eka Tkeshelashvili, chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force and Minister of Justice at the January 2 briefing.

The Minister expressed concern over the fact that this initiative will strain the situation at precincts.

"NGOs and International Organizations absolutely shared our concern. We welcome the inititiative of presidential candidate, Mikheil Saakashvili, to agree on "single rules of the game" in order to ensure calm. With an aim to achieve a consensus among political forces over this issue, the Inter-Agency Task Force is ready to host a forum for consultations," said the Chair of the Task Force.
Eka Tkeshelashvili also talked about the importance of proper administration of the elections.

For the perfection of elections administration the CEC adopted an ordinance based on which election procedures on the Election Day for district election commission members have been approved. Although, after the meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force with NGOs it became clear that additional details were needed to be included in the instructions for more clarification of certain issues. 

31.12.2007

Secrecy of Vote Guaranteed

Chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force, Eka Tkeshelashvili, discussed the issue of the secrecy of vote at the December 31 briefing. Both legislative and procedural guarantees are on place to ensure the secrecy of each vote.  To dismiss every concern related to the shooting in voting booths, the CEC decided to cover the booths. Furthermore, at precincts the election commissions will ensure the posting of a statement claiming that shooting in the elections booths is prohibited by the Election Code of Georgia. The Justice Minister underscored the fact that ordinary pens will be used at polling stations that do not evaporate. Thus, Georgian citizens may have an absolute trust in the secrecy of vote.

It is a strong will of the government that every candidate could conduct a campaign. The government will respond promptly and strictly to any case of pressure – said the Justice Minister. At the briefing the Minister called on citizens to call any of the hotlines that operate in the CEC, Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Internal Affairs in case of pressure and these bodies will promptly respond to them.

28.12.2007

At the December 28 briefing Chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Free and Fair Elections, Eka Tkeshelashvili, discussed the issue of media monitoring during the pre-election campaign. “One of the key indicators of fair and free elections is equal accessibility of media by candidates,” said Justice Minister Eka Tkeshelashvili and informed journalists of the fact that three independent commercial companies were making the media monitoring:

• Prime Time, contacted by the CEC
• Media Council
•  Transparency International – Georgia and the Media Center in cooperation with GORBI

From the methodology point of view, all the three researches are more or less similar and monitor the participation of political candidates and their like-minded persons in print media, TV new and political talk shows.   
On December 26-27 all the three monitorings for the period of December 25-23 have been released (Prime Time - December 16-22, Media Council - December 15-23, TI and media center - December 19).
Minister of Justice stated that based on the results of the monitoring we can conclude that:

• The candidates have full opportunity to present their views and positions
• According to different parameters on various channels, different candidates were leading. For example, based on the results of the Media Council, by the allocation of time to the presidential candidates, within this period, on Rustavi 2 Davit Gamkrelidze was leading  – 2 hours and 38  minutes (9 525 seconds); on TV company Mze - Mikheil Saakashvili – 1 hour and 51 seconds (3 651 seconds); and on the Public Broadcasting - Levan Gachechiladze - 1 hour and 41 seconds (3 641 seconds);
• Based on the general picture, the campaign environment is competitive. Based on the results of other media monitoring (Prime Time and Media Council) the election campaign news coverage is balanced and diverse.
• The absolute majority of news coverage (97%) was neutral (GORBI)

27.12.2007

800 international observers to monito elections

On December 27 Chair of Inter-Agency Task Force on Free and Fair Elections, Minister of Justice Eka Tkeshelashvili provided public with information on international observers who will monitor extraordinary presidential elections on January 5. She said that there was a positive dynamics in terms of the participation of international observers, specifically, as of today 800 international observers will monitor the elections. Minister Tkeshelashvili also underscored that the government will welcome the decision of other international observers to monitor the elections in Georgia.

Eka Tkeshelashvili stated that Inter-Agency Task Force on Free and Fair Elections was cooperating with the OSCE observation mission to ensure the democracy of elections.

26.12.2007

International observers to monitor elections in Upper Abkhazia for the first time
IDs to be issued in an accelerated fashion

On December 26, Chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force, Minister of Justice of Georgia, Eka Tkeshelashvili, held a briefing. She stated that for the first time seven representatives of he Reserve Officers Association of NATO member states - Estonia and Germany as well as of Finland - will monitor the situation in Upper Abkhazia. The monitoring will last for ten days, from December 29 till January 7. These people had been actively involved in the peaceful missions in Kosovo, Afghanistan etc. Justice Minister Tkeshelashvili claimed that the presence of international observers in Upper Abkhazia was of significant importance in terms of avoiding every possible provocation. Eka Tkeshelasvili thanked NATO member states for getting involved in the elections in this fashion.

25.12.2007

Franchising to be guaranteed to persons in preliminary detention
Only one reported case on the diseased

On December 25, chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Free and Fair Elections, Minister of Justice, Eka Tkeshelashvili informed the public of two things at the press conference.  
Based on the decision of the Central Election Commission, every measure will be taken in the penitentiary bodies to fully allow the persons in preliminary detention to participate in the elections. Based on the CEC decision, both local and international observers will be able to monitor the process.  

19.12.2007

Registration of deceased persons in the voters list to be prolonged

On December 19, Interim President of Georgia, Nino Burjanadze, members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Free and Fair Elections, and Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), Levan Tarkhnishvili met representatives of the following non-governmental organizations: International Society for Free Elections and Democracy, Transparency International, Young Lawyers Association, and New Generation – New Initiative.

The necessity of cooperation between non-governmental organizations, Inter-Agency Task Force and CEC was discussed at the meeting. With an aim to enhance public awareness of elections related pressing issues, concrete ways of cooperation were laid out. The Central Election Commission will ensure the provision of explanations on elections related problematic issues to the public. Non-governmental organizations, on their part, also plan to initiate an information campaign on the election procedures that will significantly contribute to the conduct of fair elections.  

Lots of time had been allocated to the discussion of shortcomings existing in the voters list. Problems related to different voter groups were discussed in detail. Non-governmental organizations stressed that the Central Election Commission’s door-to-door checking of the voters list had significantly contributed to the improvement of the voters list and that there was no longer grounds for alarm.  

18.12.2007

Government of Georgia Welcomes Council of Europe Report on Preparations for Georgia’s
“Most Competitive Elections Since Independence”

The government of Georgia welcomes the release today of a report by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on preparations for the January 5 Presidential elections. The PACE delegation underscored that these will be “the most competitive elections since Georgia regained independence.” You can read the full report at http://assembly.coe.int/Default.asp

“As Speaker of the Parliament, I am especially pleased that my colleagues in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe are playing such a critical role in monitoring our democratic processes,” said Nino Burjanadze, interim President of Georgia. “We welcome the Council of Europe’s experience in holding free and fair elections. Our government will remain vigilant in the coming weeks to ensure everything is done so that these polls are held to the highest of democratic standards.”

The report by the PACE pre-electoral mission noted that “the electoral code of Georgia forms an adequate legal basis for the conduct of democratic elections,” and that the code has been “amended to incorporate a set of wishes from the side of the opposition.” Among other changes, the revised code gives opposition parties equitable representation on the Central Election Commission; lowers the number of signatures needed to nominate a candidate for Presidential elections; guarantees presidential candidates equal access to the media and free airtime; and lowers the threshold to enter Parliament from 7% to 5%.

17.12.2007

Improvement of data on the dead in voters list proceeds

Inter-Agency Task Force on Free and Fair Election

On December 17, Eka Tkeshelashvili, Minister of Justice of Georgia and Chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Free and Fair Elections held a press conference to discuss the issue of voters list and the concrete facts of allegations of pressure from the part of the government.

Based on the statement of Eka Tkeshelashvili, the information on the dead registered in the public registry offices till December 22, were being automatically transferred to the Central Election Commission and that it will promote the improvement of the voters list. It would be possible to register the dead in the data list even on the election day. Justice Minister Tkeshelashvili particularly underscored that minor shortcomings in the voters list do not pose any threat to the conduct of fair elections.

In the second part of the press conference the Chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force talked about the allegations of pressure made by a son of a member of the Khashuri district organization of Georgia’s Republican Party, Andria Kitiashvili, on December 16. Based on the Kitiashvili’s statement, he had been kidnapped and a physical offence had been used against him. Tkeshelashvili claimed that the Ministry of Internal Affairs had immediately responded to the fact, legal proceedings had been instituted, and medical, as well as echoscopic examination had been conducted based on which it had been proved that Kitiashvili had not been pressurized. Moreover, Kitiashvili confessed that he had been drunk and that his farther had joined the opposition several days ago, as soon as he had been dismissed from the penitentiary department. Thus, according to the Justice Minister, Mr. Kitiashvili’s verbal statements can’t be supported by factual circumstances.

17.12.2007

Local official dismissed for exerting pressure on election activist
No other reported cases confirmed

Statement by the Inter-Agency task-Force on Free and Fair Elections

 The Inter-Agency Task Force has confirmed that on December 13, in Khelvachauri district two local official exerted pressure on a member of a local observation organization.

Both  of them were dismissed due to the fact of pressuring and speaking aggressively with a local observer.

This has been the only confirmed case of pressure and the response to this case was prompt and appropriate.

The Inter-Agency Task Force on Free and Fair Elections reaffirms the efforts of the Georgian Government to secure a democratic environment for the elections on January 5. The Inter-Agency Task Force will continue to cooperate actively with Georgian and international organizations and will thoroughly investigate any cases reported during the pre-election period.

Furthermore, the Inter-Agency Task Force would like to draw attention to the fact that, in reality, the majority of reported cases could not be confirmed. 

For instance, on December 10, 2007, a representative of the Labor Party, Paata Jibladze, said in a televised statement said that party member Beka Shengelia had been kidnapped and that pressure had been exerted on him. Based on the statement, legal proceedings were instituted at the Interior Ministry, based on which Beka Shengelia was interviewed; however, he denied that he had ever been kidnapped and pressured. The Ministry of Interior also contacted Mr. Jibladze with a request to provide some details on this issue. Mr. Jibladze claimed that he could not confirm the correctness of the televised statement.

17.12.2007

On December 15, the Interim President of Georgia, Nino Burjanadze, met the Head of the OSCE Observation Mission, Mr. Dieter Boden. In the follow-up, a meeting was held between other leaders of the observation mission and members of the Inter-Agency Task Force.

The Task Force underscored at the meeting that every government agency is eager to hold democratic elections. The importance of cooperation during the pre-election period, with an aim to proactively avoiding possible violations, was also stressed. The leaders of the observation mission and members of the Inter-Agency Task Force will continue to meet on a regular basis to secure a democratic election process.  

17.12.2007

A newly established Inter-Agency Task Force and Georgian non-governmental organizations have agreed to cooperate closely to exchange information in a timely manner, respond promptly to every violation, and prevent possible violations.

On December 15, the interim president of Georgia, Nino Burjanadze, introduced the Inter-Agency Task Force to those NGOs that will monitor the election process.   

Nino Burjanadze discussed the importance of NGO involvement in the election process, and of cooperation between observation organizations and government agencies. In this line, concrete cooperation mechanisms were also discussed. The Chairman of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, Giorgi Chkheidze, welcomed the government’s readiness and thanked the Ministry of Internal Affairs for issuing information on the violations during the pre-election period in a timely manner. The meeting participants have agreed to meet on a weekly basis.

The meeting participants included members of: International Organization for Fair Elections; Transparency International, Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association; and New Generation – New Initiative.
The Inter-Agency Task Force on Free and Fair Elections was established with an aim to coordinate the activities of those government agencies that are involved in securing conditions for democratic elections.