The National Democratic Institute (NDI) will conduct a pre-election assessment mission to Georgia ahead of the June 15 municipal elections and announce its findings on May 2.

“The delegation will assess the status of electoral preparations, the conduct of political activity by announced major electoral participants, and the general electoral environment through a series of meetings with government officials, candidates, political party leaders, election authorities, representatives of civil society and the international community,” said NDI, the U.S.-based group, working on political party development and democracy programs in Georgia since 1994.

Members of the delegation are Per Eklund, former head of the EU Delegation to Georgia; Sam Gejdenson, former ranking member of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee and a member of the NDI Board; Robert Adams, international elections and democratization expert for Democracy Reporting International (DRI) and Electoral Reform International Services (ERIS); Laura Jewett, NDI regional director for Eurasia; and Luis Navarro, NDI senior resident country director in Georgia.