Germany to send 37 observers in the coming days to monitor Georgian parliamentary elections
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Germany will send 37 observers for Georgia’s October 31 parliamentary elections in the coming days, while the rest will visit the country by the end of September, German Ambassador to Georgia Hubert Knirsch said in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on September 17.
I hope Georgia will have a full ODIHR observation mission with more than 300 observers to monitor the parliamentary elections. These elections are very important as it follows the constitutional amendments that changed the electoral system in Georgia. Relatively small political parties have a better chance of being in parliament. All embassies are closely monitoring the election campaign and party activities”, said Knirsch.
Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani stated on September 17 that OSCE/ODIHR will send 350 short-term and 28 long-term observers for Georgia’s October 31 parliamentary elections.
Due to the pandemic, the NDI and IRI will observe the elections virtually, through ‘close cooperation’ with their local partner organisations.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Archil Talakvadze said at the end of August that the Georgian government is ready to charter flights to bring in international observers for the elections.
- OSCE/ODIHR to send 378 observers to monitor Georgian parliamentary elections
- Ruling party MP: int’l observers will be able to come to Georgia for elections, despite travel limitations
The upcoming elections will be held in a different manner – 120 seats in parliament will be distributed based on the votes received in proportional elections, while remaining 30 per the votes received in majoritarian elections.
Previously 77 seats in its 150-member parliament were allocated proportionally, under the party-list system, while the remaining 73 MPs were elected in 73 single-mandate constituencies.
The delegation of the Council of Europe (CoE), which met with Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia earlier today, has welcomed the recent agreement between the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party and the opposition on how to hold the 2020 parliamentary elections, the government of Georgia press office reports.
A bill has been registered in parliament per the agreement of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party and the opposition on March 8.
The ruling Georgian Dream party and the united opposition have reached an agreement on holding the upcoming parliamentary elections this October with 120 seats in the legislative body to be distributed via a proportional vote and the remaining 30 via the majoritarian system.
The Georgian government is ready to charter flights to bring in international observers for the upcoming parliamentary elections that will be held on October 31, says the Chairman of the Parliament, Archil Talakvadze.
The Central Election Commission has set safety guidelines for the upcoming parliamentary elections on October 31 following consultations with political parties and monitoring organisations. Disinfectant barriers and hand sanitizers as well as information about preventive measures against the spread of the virus will be placed at the entrance of polling premises, the CEC said.
The Georgian Interior Ministry has announced that 11 of its employees in various departments have tested positive for the coronavirus. The ministry also noted that all of them were delivered to hospitals for further treatment.
Election coverage has become more diverse in recent years in the country, but analytical depth is lacking and some outlets resort to gender stereotypes, reads an interim election media monitoring report for 2020 released by the EU and UNDP.
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has decided to limit its missions in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to long-term observation based on ‘a shortfall in the number of short-term observers provided by OSCE states due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated travel and health restrictions’.
The European Parliament will not send an election observation mission to Georgia for the October 31 parliamentary elections due to the pandemic.