OSCE/ODIHR suggests measures to enhance credibility of upcoming elections in Georgia

WARSAW, 7 April 2003 - The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) called on the Georgian authorities to consider a number of measures that could contribute to enhancing the credibility and integrity of the parliamentary elections scheduled for autumn. The ODIHR, which plans to observe the upcoming vote, sent an early assessment team to Georgia on 1-4 April to review pre-election preparations.

"Preparations for the elections are hampered by the continuing uncertainties regarding the composition of the Central Election Commission," said Ambassador Christian Strohal, Director of the ODIHR. "We therefore call on the Parliament to agree quickly on the new composition of this key body."

The ODIHR urged the authorities to undertake all efforts to improve the accuracy of the voter lists, and called on Parliament to consider provisions ensuring the immediate public display of result protocols as well as the timely publication of detailed results broken down by polling station. In addition, the ODIHR recommended adopting anti-fraud measures, such as indelible ink in order to prevent potential multiple voting - a suggestion that was welcomed by many actors involved in the electoral process, including representatives of civil society.

"Georgia faces critical challenges ahead of the forthcoming elections, and the timely resolution of the identified problems is an indispensable condition for restoring public confidence in the electoral process," concluded Ambassador Strohal.