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Political Party Development
One of the crucial elements in promoting the establishment of a functioning democracy in Georgia is the existence of well-organized and stable political parties. After the "Rose Revolution," all major political parties, except those comprising the new government in Georgia, lost credibility with the electorate and discovered the need to develop their organizations from the ground up.
The parties now face a new political reality in which new parties and coalitions have joined together. Many parties are still defining their relationship with the new government and navigate in the new political environment. IRI is assisting Georgian parties with training on message development, strategy, management and grassroots organizational development.
The International Republican Institute’s (IRI) efforts have led many political parties to establish their own strategic party plans, party activities, party ideology as well as independently run training centers and campaign academies for regional party members. Some parties also developed local chapters and held party elections to outline the specific roles and responsibilities of its leaders.
Public Opinion Polling
A critical component of developing a party plan is the ability to accurately gauge the political sentiment within the electorate. Political parties may themselves conduct many forms of research needed to formulate a party plan, such as demographic research and opposition research. However, in order to accurately assess opinions of the electorate, it is necessary to incorporate the use of public opinion polls into the party plan and message development process.
IRI is conducting a series of public opinion surveys to track the opinions of the electorate. When each poll is completed, IRI meets with the political party leaders to share the results. IRI's goal is that through consultations on polling data and analyses, Georgian political parties will learn how to use the information from such a poll to conduct more effective political campaigns. In addition, IRI shares its polling analyses with the government of Georgia to assist it in managing expectations and identifying important areas of policy reform.
A significant number of campaign managers in the 2005 parliamentary by-election were not only trained by IRI, but also used the polling data in formulating their campaign strategy and developing their party platforms.
Youth Party Building
IRI works with all relevant political parties to promote youth participation in their parties. IRI encourages the creation of viable political entities that stand independently from their parent organizations. Through day-to-day consultations, IRI assists youth organizations determine their role and influence with the political party structure.
Another aspect of IRI's youth work is the facilitation of youth party building exchanges between youth leaders in Georgia and youth leaders from neighboring countries. The purpose of the exchanges is to allow youth leaders from other countries to work directly with their Georgian counterparts to obtain practical information on successful youth party building techniques and how to run successful political campaigns.
As a result of IRI's efforts, numerous political parties organized youth organizations and chapters within their respective party. Some parties opened youth party offices on a regional basis. Together with these local chapters, IRI conducted seminars throughout Georgia with the goal of developing a grassroots network of youth activists.
Women's Program
IRI assists in the advancement of women's issues by conducting consultations with local representatives from women's nongovernmental organizations as well as female candidates for municipal government. These consultations are designed to encourage women to take an active role in the political process.
IRI’s women’s program prepared for the 2006 municipal elections by training women in effective campaigning. IRI also hosted women's political seminars around the country for groups that focused on the fundamentals of political campaign training including strategy, planning, tactics and media relations. More than 150 IRI-trained women ran for municipal office in the October 5, 2006 elections.
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