President Margvelashvili met with NGOs
By Tatia Megeneishvili
Friday, June 6
The President of Georgia, Giorgi Margvelashvili, held a meeting with 19 NGOs on June 4. During the meeting, Margvelashvili called on the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia to investigate violations carried out in the pre-election period.
According to Margvelashvili, the election process has been progressing without any major violations in a mainly peaceful environment; however, several candidates have inexplicably removed themselves from the party lists.
“I want to call on the Prosecutor's Office to investigate these cases in a timely manner, as this topic is related to the political sustainability and sovereignty of Georgia. The investigation of these cases is essential,” Margvelashvili stated.
Margvelashvili promised the NGOs that he would always listen to their remarks and recommendations. “We discussed the facts of the violations that were revealed in the pre-election period. I have such an impression that the scale of the problem is not significant,” stressed Margvelashvili. He added that the collaboration between government and the civil sector will give a positive push towards fair and international election standards.
The Execute Director of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), Nino Lomjaria, said that the most important outcome of the meeting was the president’s desire for future cooperation. “The President stated that he will support initiatives, which will be prepared by NGOs ,” stressed Lomjaria.
The Executive Director of Transparency International Georgia, Eka Gigauri, suggested that the election legislation has been improved a lot, but it still has some shortcomings. “One of the main problems is related to the election system, and we suppose the system must be changed in our country,” Gigauri stressed.
Municipal elections will be held on June 15.
