Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

Election observation mission

Georgia, Observation of Repeat Parliamentary Elections, 28 March 2004

Election observation mission

Mission at a glance
      • Head of Mission: Amb. Michael Wygant (USA)
      • 13 core staff in Tbilisi
      • 27 long-term observers deployed to 14 regional centres
      • 450 short-term observers
      • Core team and long-term observers drawn from 18 OSCE participating States
Mission schedule
      • 14 Feb.: mission opens with arrival of the core team
      • 21 Feb.: briefing of long-term observers
      • 22 Feb.: deployment of long-term observers
      • 22 Mar.: latest arrival of short-term observers
      • 28 Mar.: election day
      • 29 Mar.: press conference in Tbilisi

ODIHR has deployed an election observation mission for the repeat parliamentary elections in Georgia on 28 March 2004.

Background

The 2 November 2003 parliamentary elections were critically assessed by the international election observation mission (IEOM) as falling short of a number of OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections.

After the resignation of President Eduard Shevardnadze on 23 November, an extraordinary presidential election was held on 4 January 2004. The IEOM concluded that the election demonstrated notable progress over previous elections and brought the country closer to meeting OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections.

Following the 2 November 2003 parliamentary elections, which were marked by widespread and systematic fraud, the proportional component of the elections was cancelled by the Supreme Court on 25 November 2003. As a result, Nino Burjanadze, the then-interim president, set the date for repeat parliamentary elections on 28 March.

These elections will be a more genuine indicator of Georgia's commitment to democratic elections, since the extraordinary presidential election did not take place in a truly competitive political environment.

Long-term observation

The mission, headed by Amb. Michael Wygant (United States), includes 13 international staff based at the Tbilisi head office and 27 long-term observers deployed ithroughout the country. Two of these were recruited through a voluntary fund established to diversify the national composition of election observation missions.

The mission will assess the entire election process in terms of its compliance with international standards for democratic elections and national legislation. It will focus on the election campaign, the legislative framework and its implementation, the media situation, the work of the election administration and relevant government bodies, and the resolution of election-related disputes.

Election day

ODIHR plans to deploy some 450 short-term observers shortly before election day. The short-term observers will be deployed across Georgia in teams of two to monitor the opening of polling stations, the voting, the counting of ballots, and the tabulation of results at all levels.

A number of parliamentarians from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Council of Europe, and the European Parliament will take part in the mission as short-term observers. The four institutions will form an international election observation mission.

The day after the election, the mission will issue a statement of preliminary findings and conclusions. A comprehensive final report will be released about a month after the completion of the election process.

Previous elections

ODIHR has observed a number of elections in Georgia, including the 2004 presidential election, the 2003 parliamentary elections, the 2000 presidential election, and the 1999 parliamentary elections.