NDI is launching a pre-election international observation mission for the 2024 parliamentary elections

NDI is launching a pre-election international observation mission for the 2024 parliamentary elections.

As stated in the information released by the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the mission aims to support the democratic development of Georgia and the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the Georgian population by issuing constructive recommendations.

According to their reports, the delegation will meet representatives of the government, political parties, civil sector, media and diplomatic corps in five days.

"Today, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) is starting high-level meetings within the framework of the pre-election international observation mission. The mission aims to support the democratic development of Georgia and the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the Georgian population by issuing constructive recommendations. At the same time, it expresses the expectation of the international community that all subjects involved in the election process will follow all the principles of democratic elections and political processes. After the meetings, the NDI delegation will publish the main conclusions of the pre-election environment assessment in the form of a report.

On February 19-23, the NDI delegation will hold high-level meetings with various parties involved in the election process. The meetings will be chaired by: former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden Ann Linde; former head of the EU delegation in Georgia, Per Eklund; 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; NDI Eurasia Regional Director Eva Busza and NDI Global Director of Election Programs Richard Klein. Alan Gillam, director of the NDI Georgia office, will also attend the meetings.

During five days, the delegation will meet representatives of the government, political parties, civil sector, media and diplomatic corps.

Before the 2024 parliamentary elections, the members of the delegation will assess the general political environment and the factors that may have an impact on the pre-election processes. The delegation will review important topics such as election administration, citizen engagement, gender and inclusion issues, political parties and the campaign process. These meetings represent the first phase of NDI's pre-election observation process. The mentioned process additionally includes the second pre-election delegation, the group of long-term observers and the election day observation delegation.

The pre-election observation mission of NDI will be carried out in accordance with the legislation of Georgia and the Declaration on the Principles of International Observation of Elections. The program is financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) within the framework of the Consortium for the Strengthening of Elections and Political Processes (CEPPS), the information says.