NDI's first pre-election observation mission of 2024 has ended - the delegation publishes the recommendations developed for the October 26 parliamentary elections.

The report notes that a number of positive trends can be observed eight months before the elections, and six months before the start of the pre-election campaigns, including: the population's unwavering support for democracy, human rights and the rule of law, the public's positive attitude towards the police, the population's perception of a reduced level of petty corruption, in order to increase transparency update the practice of publicizing government decrees and introduce innovations to improve election day processes.

At the same time, there are important challenges related to electoral processes that need to be resolved: polarization, verbal attacks against civil society (including monitoring organizations), suspicions about the dishonest use of administrative resources for political gain, and questions related to the introduction of new electoral technologies.

As the former head of the EU representation in Georgia, Per Eklund, noted, this is the first election for Georgia after receiving the EU candidate status.

"Accordingly, the Government of Georgia and all other interested parties are given the opportunity to prove their commitment to inclusive, transparent and accountable elections and democratic values," Per Eklund said.

According to him, the international and local election observation missions play an important role in ensuring the credibility of the elections and protecting the global democratic standards.

In addition, the member of the delegation and NDI Eurasia regional director, Eva Busha, noted that there is enough time left before the parliamentary elections in October 2024 to ensure a favorable environment for the elections, which will be another step forward on the way of democratic development of Georgia.

As it is known, a pre-election observation mission of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) was in Georgia on February 19-25. The mentioned delegation was the first of two pre-election missions planned before the October 26, 2024 parliamentary elections.

The mission aimed at an impartial and accurate assessment of the general political environment in the country and a review of the ongoing pre-election processes; Also, developing practical recommendations for promoting more inclusive, transparent and accountable election processes and demonstrating the international community's support for credible elections and democratic governance in Georgia.

As explained in the press release, the delegation's visit to Georgia took place long before the elections, which emphasizes the importance of the election environment and pre-election preparations for the legitimacy of the election process. During the visit to Tbilisi, the members of the delegation met with government representatives and various parties involved in the election process, including: the Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), the President of Georgia, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, the head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, the leaders of the ruling party and opposition parties, Civil society organizations, independent monitoring organizations, representatives of public broadcasting and private media, diplomatic missions and donor organizations.

The delegation conducted the observation process in accordance with the Declaration on the Principles of International Observation of Elections and its accompanying Code of Conduct for International Election Observers, international and regional election standards (including the opinions of the Venice Commission) and Georgian legislation. Before the October 26 elections, the second pre-election observation mission of NDI will visit Georgia and evaluate the implementation of the recommendations before the elections.

The members of the delegation were: An Linde, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden; Per Eklund, former head of the EU delegation in Georgia; Michael H. Posner, former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the State Department; Daniel Gottfried, Legislative and Policy Analyst, Office of the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Eva Busha, Regional Director of NDI Eurasia; and Richard Klein, Global Director of NDI Elections Programs.

According to NDI, the delegation was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

"NDI is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental organization dedicated to strengthening democratic institutions around the world by promoting citizen engagement, open government and accountability. Until now, NDI has observed about 200 elections in all regions of the world, including all the general elections held in Georgia since 1992", - it is noted in the information.