Election observation mission in Georgia

Press Conference, Monday, 31 May 2010, 2 pm, Hotel Sheraton, Tbilisi

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Speaking notes by Günther KRUG, Head of the Congress Election Observation Delegation

Thank you, Madame Ambassador, for your comprehensive statement. I appreciate that a joint press conference with OSCE/ODIHR is being held today in Tbilisi. This demonstrates good co-operation and underlines that we speak with one voice in the interest of one common goal – the democratic development in Georgia!

The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is glad that these elections are a real step forward in this respect!

The Congress delegation included local and regional elected representatives as observers from 11 countries, this is – if I may say so – the difference to the ODIHR observation mission, furthermore, among our members, there are 4 members of the Committee of the Regions, our partner institution in the European Union, Sharon Taylor is the speaker of this group. Prior to the observation of these elections the Congress delegation carried out a pre-election mission beginning of May, where we met with representatives of the government, all parties, NGOs, the media and other stakeholders.

To tell you something more specific on the role of the Council of Europe Congress in this respect, I would like to mention that we from the Congress are not only observing elections but – more generally – assessing the situation of local self-government in our member countries. We are, if I may say so, the watchdog of grassroots democracy in Europe. In this respect, we are a key political partner for local and regional administrations. Also, the Congress is the driving force for the deepening of the devolution of powers to the local and regional level.

With regard to Georgia, the Congress has had established fruitful co-operation since 1999, when the country entered the Council of Europe. In this light, the Congress is not only observing elections but also monitoring the implementation of the provisions of the Charter of Local Self-Government, our core legal instrument for developing local democracy. Together with the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia, NALAG, the Congress prepared the grounds for self-governmental structures in this country. The elections of yesterday marked considerable progress also in this respect.

Our aim is to build communities which enable citizens to take control of their own life in their own cities and regions. Therefore, it was important for us to have among the members of the Congress delegation also representatives of the Committee of the Regions of the European Union.

I would like to make a few remarks in the respect of the conduct of these elections, more detailed information you can take from the preliminary findings and conclusions.

The municipal elections of 30 May have shown that Georgia has made considerable progress in respect of democracy, rule of law and local self government. The campaign was characterized by a competitive atmosphere, substantive issues and improved electoral legislation. Election day was generally well organised and calm.

However, outside and inside polling stations the observers of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities witnessed several incidents, in particular in respect of the complicated and long drawing counting of the votes, doubtful practices of voter mobilisation and security forces presence in some parts of the country.

The Congress believes that such atmospheric components could undermine the confidence of the voters in the electoral process and thus put in danger the progress which has been made.

An important aspect from the Congress point of view which - I want to share with you - is the fact that during our visits of polling stations, we met a lot of committed women. To give you a concrete example, in one polling station in Gori I observed that the entire precinct commission was made up only of women. At the same time, regrettably enough, most of the candidates were men. We hope and we want to contribute through our work in the Congress that much more women will be empowered to play a more active role in Georgian politics in the future. The same applies to the many young people we met during our observations. The involvement of these groups is for us a positive signal for the democratic development of Georgia.

As we are speaking of the future - the municipal councils, the mayors and – more specifically – the directly elected Mayor of Tbilisi have now to further develop democracy and to solve the social and economical problems of the country which are serious. From the perspective of locally elected representatives as us, responsible regional stability policies are key in this respect.

Strong and independent municipalities are an important factor for the further democratic development of the country. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe is ready to accompany and assist Georgia on this direction.