OSCE contributes 1 million euros for holding Georgian parliamentary elections

TBILISI, 17 February 2004 - The OSCE participating States today made 1 million euros available to cover the administrative expenses of Georgia's parliamentary elections scheduled for 28 March.

Under an agreement signed in the Georgian capital, the amount will fund basic election administration operational costs, supporting the Central Election Commission with resources to run the elections in an effective manner.

The agreement was signed by Georgian Finance Minister Zurab Nogaideli and the Head of the OSCE Mission to Georgia, Ambassador Roy Reeve.

"We are grateful that the established co-operation with the OSCE is continuing and I express my gratitude to donor states and the OSCE," Minister Nogaideli said at the signing ceremony, referring to earlier support for the presidential elections.

At the OSCE Ministerial Council in Maastricht on 1 and 2 December 2003, the 55 OSCE participating States pledged to support Georgia in conducting this year's democratic presidential and parliamentary elections.

Through the OSCE Georgia Elections Assistance Programme (GEAP), which was set up to administer the special funds, some 2 million euros went towards the presidential election on 4 January. Another 2 million euros are designated for the forthcoming parliamentary elections.

"We hope Georgia will have its own capacity to finance elections when it goes through its next election cycle," Ambassador Reeve said.

Today's agreement marks the official launch of the support for parliamentary elections to be delivered through the OSCE's GEAP.

Other projects to be funded though the Programme will support capacity-building for the election administration, domestic observation and voter education outreach.