ISFED: violations in several municipalities may have an effect on final election results

The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) has released its final report on October 2021 municipal elections, which says that violations reported before and during the second-round of elections in November could have an influence on final results in several municipalities where the difference between the votes of candidates were little. 

The report also says that the elections were ‘more or less competitive and the election day was technically well-administered.’ 

“However, the administrative and financial resources of the ruling party affected an equal electoral environment,” said the organization. 

According to ISFED, the electoral environment was damaged by alleged cases of political pressure, intimidation, threats of dismissal or coercion, and by the state agencies’ inappropriate response to them.

The ruling Georgian Dream party won 63 of 64 mayoral constituencies, and received 47% of the vote in the proportional part of the race.