OSCE/ODIHR Needs Assessment Mission Representatives Visit Georgia

Representatives of the Needs Assessment Mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) are visiting Georgia. They have already held separate meetings with the opposition MPs from the political parties and groups in the Parliament Girchi, Euro-Optimists, For National and Democratic State, Lelo-Partnership for Georgia, Citizens.

According to the Parliament of Georgia’s press release, the main topic of discussions was the pre-election situation in the country. “We talked about the environment created in Georgia today in the context of the steps taken by the government against democracy. The members of the mission were interested in what challenges there are in the pre-election period, and I informed the guests about the practical challenges and pressure that the government applies not only against the opposition activists, but also against the free citizens of Georgia,” – said MP Ana Natsvlishvili of Lelo for Georgia.

Among other things, MP Nika Machutadze of the For National and Democratic State said they asked Georgia’s Western partners to work with the Georgian government and ruling party on the electronic voting system for the Georgian diaspora and the emigrants to be more involved in the country’s upcoming Parliamentary elections.

“We also talked about the fact that the presence of international observers at the elections is crucial and very important so that Georgian Dream does not have the opportunity to falsify the elections in any way,” – MP Ketevan Turazashvili from Citizens said.

As for the meeting with Girchi, according to MP Alexander Rakviashvili, they discussed “all issues related to the election process and election day,” as well as the mechanisms of vote counting and the problems of the electoral environment.

“According to her, the pre-electoral milieu in Georgia is aggravated since all state structures are embezzled by the Georgian Dream,” the Parliament of Georgia wrote following the meeting between MP Khatia Dekanoidze of Euro-Optimists and the OSCE/ODIHR Mission.

More to follow…

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