Last week, IRI sent 14 long-term observers from 10 different countries to Georgia to monitor aspects of the electoral environment in the lead-up to the upcoming parliamentary elections.
The observers deployed to seven regions on July 30. Elections will take place on October 8, 2016, and the observers will remain in place through any runoff elections that might be conducted in single-mandate districts. The teams will be assigned to the following regional centers: Zugdidi, Batumi, Kutaisi, Akhaltsikhe, Marneuli, Telavi and Tblisi.
Media inquiries may be directed to Andrea Keerbs at akeerbs@iri.org and Nino Dolidze at ndolidze@iri.org.
About Our Election Observation Missions
IRI monitors elections and publishes reports on election administration and outcomes in order to ensure elections are transparent, open and competitive. Our election monitoring includes long-term observation that examines pre-election campaigning, media coverage, electoral administration and the post-election period to gain a holistic perspective of the entire electoral process.
IRI will also deploy a short-term observation mission that will include international delegates and IRI staff. The international delegation teams will focus on observing the polling stations on election day, and will pay particular attention to potential opportunities for ballot fraud. Members of each delegation will document the electoral environment at each polling station visited and speak with elected officials and voters to gauge issues and/or problems at different voting locations.
IRI endorses and adheres to the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observers and Code of Conduct for International Election Observers that was commemorated at the United Nations on October 27, 2005. IRI also endorses the Declaration of Global Principles for Non-Partisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organizations and the important role citizen observers play in ensuring transparent, open elections. Through international election observation missions and assessments, IRI has monitored a total of 204 elections in 57 countries.
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