Statement of WG1 on upcoming Parliamentarian elections in Georgia

The October 2012 Parliamentary Elections are of crucial importance for the future of democracy in Georgia. The new parliament shall ensure the country’s transition to a parliamentary system and form the new government in line with the amendments to the Constitution of Georgia of 15 October 2010.

While the upcoming elections promise to be competitive, there still remains a number of challenges to the prospects of conducting free and fair elections with a level playing field.

In February 2012, significant part of the civil society organisations started a campaign under the name “This Affects You Too” aimed at improving election legislation and developing a better pre-election environment. Many of the campaign’s proposals have eventually been reflected in the amendments to this law in May 2012.

On 7 May 2012 Georgia’s non-governmental and media organisations submitted an additional package of legislative proposals to the Parliament which, if adopted, would be instrumental for democratic elections in Georgia. The must-carry and must-offer principles introduced in the legislative package deserve a special attention as they ensure public access to pluralistic media.

Participants of Working Group 1 of the EaP Civil Society Forum address the Georgian authorities with the following requests:

Ensuring public access to pluralistic media and equal coverage of all political parties during the election period;
Providing a forum for political debates;
Refining the vote counting procedures on the day of the elections;
Regulating the use of administrative resources.

Herewith we address the European Union to support the efforts of the Georgian Civil Society aimed at stipulating fair and competitive elections and media environment.