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OSCE/ODIHR opens election observation mission for presidential election in Georgia

Monday, September 23
TBILISI, 19 September 2013 – The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) today opened an election observation mission to monitor the 27 October presidential election in Georgia.

ODIHR was invited by Georgia’s government to observe the election, in line with the country’s commitments as an OSCE participating State.

The mission is headed by Matteo Mecacci and consists of 16 international experts based in Tbilisi and 28 long-term observers to be deployed throughout the country. The experts and observers are drawn from 24 countries.

The mission will assess the presidential election for compliance with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections, as well as with national legislation. Observers will follow campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant state bodies, implementation of the legislative framework, and the resolution of election disputes. As part of the observation, the mission will also monitor the media coverage of the campaign.

In the course of its observation, the mission will meet with representatives from relevant authorities and political parties, as well as with candidates, and with representatives from civil society, the media and the international community. On election day, observers will monitor the opening of polling stations, voting, the counting of ballots and the tabulation at all levels of results.

A statement of preliminary findings and conclusions will be issued on the day after the election. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be published approximately two months after the completion of the election process.
(OSCE)