The OSCE’s democracy and rights arm, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) opened today an election observation mission (EOM) for Georgia’s October 2 local self-government elections.
The mission consists of a core team of 12 experts based in Tbilisi and 30 long-term observers, who will be dispatched throughout Georgia from 4 September.
ODIHR also plans to request OSCE participating states to send 350 short-term observers, who would arrive several days before election day. Noteworthy, ODIHR cancelled the short-term observation for 2020 parliamentary polls over COVID-19 pandemic concerns.
The observation mission is led by Ambassador Albert Jónsson. Previously, the Icelandic diplomat headed ODIHR mission for Ukraine’s early parliamentary vote in July 2019 and Lithuanian presidential elections in May 2019.
The mission will assess whether the elections are held as per OSCE commitments and other international obligations, as well as with Georgian legislation. Observers are set to monitor fundamental aspects of the elections, including voter registration, campaign activities, the work of the election administration and government bodies, electoral legislation and its implementation, and the resolution of election-related disputes. It will also monitor media coverage of the campaign.
The ODIHR mission, which was launched some five weeks before the October 2 vote, will publish one interim report on the course of observation. The day after the elections, it will provide a a statement of preliminary findings.
ODIHR will publish a final election monitoring report, including with recommendations for improvements around two months after the end of the election process.
Also Read:
- Interview with Head of ODIHR Observation Mission for October 31, 2020 Elections
- ODIHR Final Observation Report on Georgia – October 2020 Elections
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