Fundamental freedoms generally respected during Georgian municipal elections but insufficient distinction between State and governing party

TBILISI, 6 October 2006 - Yesterday's municipal elections in Georgia were conducted with general respect for fundamental freedoms, however, the blurred distinction between the authorities and the governing party reinforced the advantage of the incumbents.

Those are the conclusions of international observers from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe.

"We appreciate the efforts of the authorities to conduct the process in a professional and inclusive manner and welcome the readiness of Georgia to continue international co-operation on bringing further improvements to the electoral practice to fully meet all OSCE and other international commitments," said Ambassador Geert Ahrens, who headed the Limited Election Observation Mission from the OSCE/ODIHR, deployed a month prior to the elections.

Wim van Gelder, Head of Delegation of the Congress said: "We have observed significant progress in the conduct of voting." Referring to the fact that following these elections, mayors of large cities will no longer be appointed by the central government, he added: "Georgia has also taken encouraging steps towards effective local democracy in accordance with its commitments to the Council of Europe. However, preliminary turnout figures show that progress is still to be made to ensure broader participation of citizens and political forces in local affairs."

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