OSCE has been recommended to send 28 long-term observers to monitor campaign ahead of the October 8 parliamentary elections in Georgia and 350 short-term observers to follow election day proceedings.
 
Following Georgia’s request, OSCE’s democracy and rights arm ODIHR sent a three-member Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) in late April to define scope and type of observation activities.

The team said in its Needs Assessment Mission report, released on June 1, that all of its interlocutors in Tbilisi requested “a robust and lengthy observation mission.”

“Particular concerns were raised over the conduct of the campaign, and especially with regard to possible pressure on contestants and voters and a potential misuse of administrative resources. Stakeholders requested the deployment of a robust and lengthy mission to ensure sufficient nationwide coverage with an emphasis on areas populated with national minorities,” reads the report, which recommends sending of 28 long-term and 350 short-term observers to Georgia.

Usually OSCE/ODIHR long-term observation missions are deployed six to eight weeks before election day.

“A number of previous OSCE/ODIHR recommendations remain unaddressed and specific aspects that could merit attention by an OSCE/ODIHR election observation activity include the conduct of the electoral campaign, campaign finance, and media coverage,” the Needs Assessment Mission report reads.

It said that the upcoming elections “will take place against a backdrop of political tension affecting the pre-electoral environment, including ongoing legal disputes concerning the county’s largest private broadcaster [Rustavi 2 TV] and a recent release of surveillance videos of high-profile individuals.”

According to the report the campaign is expected to be “intense and focus on personality issues rather than broader policy programmes.”

On redistricting of single-mandate, majoritarian constituencies, the report echoes opinion of the Council of Europe’s advisory body for legal affairs, Venice Commission, saying that “while the principle of equal suffrage was largely satisfied with the delimitation and serves to address a long-standing OSCE/ODIHR recommendation, concern was noted that the amendments did not contain sufficient information on various aspects of how the process is implemented.” It said that many stakeholders criticized “lack of transparency, impartiality and broad engagement in the process.”