Observers Condemn Elections Marred by Irregularities

OSCE Says These Elections Insufficient to Enhance Democracy in Georgia

OSCE: the people of this country are  entitled to a better-run election system and  protection of the right to vote.

International, as well as local observers slammed mass irregularities and chaos during November 2 parliamentary elections in Georgia.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which deployed in Georgia up to 450 observers to monitor polls, issued a preliminary assessment on November 3 saying that these elections are “insufficient to enhance democracy” in Georgia.

“These elections have, regrettably, been insufficient to enhance the credibility of either the electoral or the democratic process,” said Bruce George, Special Coordinator of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, leading the Short-Term Observation Mission.

“We believe that the people of this country are entitled to a better-run election system and protection of the right to vote, as sadly was not apparent yesterday. Urgent attention must be paid to training presiding election officials and addressing shortcomings in the system,” added Tom Cox, Head of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly’s Delegation.

Observers from the OSCE and European Parliament stressed, that although the voters were willing to participate in the elections, a great deal of them failed to express their will due to disorganized work of polling stations, lack of training of the members of precinct election commissions and mass inaccuracies in the voter lists. 

“The irregularities and delays in the voting process on polling day reflect a lack of collective political will and administrative capacity for the conduct of the elections. The counting, tabulation and appeals process will now be crucial to building public confidence,” concluded Julian Peel Yates, who is heading the Long-Term Observation Mission of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

Foreign observers also criticized some last minute decisions by the Central Election Commission were inappropriate. “The use of different voter lists reduced confidence in the integrity of the data and lacked transparency,” Demetrio Volcic, Head of the Delegation of the European Parliament said.

Observers also said that deployment of security forces in four districts and numbers of unauthorized persons in polling stations added to a notion of interference in the election process.

The OSCE also underlined trends in the election system. “More positively, transparency was maintained in most areas and many Precinct Election Commissions worked hard to overcome difficulties and attempted to follow correct voting and counting procedures,” observers said.

The OSCE observers condemned irregularities in the election process in the regions, particularly in Kutaisi and Rustavi, in the Adjara Autonomous Republic and Kvemo Kartli.

George Folsom, the President of the U.S. International Republican Institute (IRI), which also monitored Georgian elections, said at a news briefing in Tbilisi on November 3,  that many polling stations lacked voter marking materials, ballot papers, bags necessary for counted ballot papers, etc. Also there were no protocols for summarizing the results of the referendum.

“The situation was rather tense and chaotic during the whole day of elections. A long procedural process and lack of knowledge of the procedures by the precinct officials triggered long queues of voters in front of the polling stations,” the IRI President said.

“Unfortunately, the Georgian government and the Central Election Commission failed to secure fair elections in the country, as well as to meet the commitments to the international organizations,” George Folsom said.

As the foreign observers said, the November 2 parliamentary election was important, since it was a test for Georgia – how possible it is to hold fair presidential elections in 2005. 

Hence, foreign observers say Georgia should start to prepare for the most important presidential elections to be held in 2005. 

“These elections are being discussed in light of presidential elections, when the country will elect a new President. Much is to be done to secure democratic and fair presidential elections in the country,” Julian Peel Yates said. 

“We call on the Georgian authorities and the political parties to do their best to improve the election process in order to get ready for the 2005 presidential elections, where the basic responsibility is to be assumed by the government,” George Folsom said.

The European observers refrain yet to make assessments “whether the elections were fair or not.” The OSCE will prepare final conclusions on Georgian elections after month.

The mass irregularities triggered opposition’s accusations that the authorities rig the ballots and manipulated election results. According to the official results, with about 50% of the votes counted, the pro-presidential election alliance For New Georgia leads the polls with 25,8%, followed by opposition National Movement with 23,2%.

While according to the parallel vote tabulation results, conducted by the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy National Movement is a frontrunner with 26,6%, with the For New Georgia bloc in the second place – 18,9%.