TI Georgia calls on ruling party ‘stop discrediting’ local observing organisations

Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia) has called on the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party to ‘stop discrediting local observing organisations’ ahead of the October 2 municipal elections. 

 

Ruling party MP Givi Mikanadze warned local observing organisations earlier today ‘to monitor the election process more attentively not to give a way to wrong interpretations and evaluations.’ 

 

He said that TI Georgia has given a ‘wrong interpretation’ to the recent meeting of the GD Ozurgeti Mayoral Candidate Avtandil Talakvadze with health workers.

 

The GD has also many times criticized the International Society for Fair and Democracy (ISFED) for its mistake in the 2020 parliamentary elections’ parallel vote count data which ‘encouraged the opposition to take to the street’ following the elections and demand the holding of repeat elections. 

 

Gigauri says that TI Georgia’s complaint on Talakvadze was ‘absolutely legitimate’ and that it is the Central Election Commission administration and not the GD to decide whether the complaint was legitimate or not. 

 

She said that the ruling party’s statement was an indirect pressure on the Central Election Commission administration on the complaint ‘which is unacceptable.’