Parliamentary By-Elections, 27 April 2013

Following an invitation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia to observe the upcoming parliamentary by-elections scheduled for 27 April 2013, the OSCE/ODIHR has deployed an Election Expert Team (EET).

Activities of the EET

The OSCE/ODIHR EET is led by Mr. Harald Jepsen and consists of six international experts.

The OSCE/ODIHR EET will assess the by-elections for their compliance with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections, as well as with domestic legislation. Experts will look at candidate registration, campaign activities, campaign finance, the work of the election administration and relevant governmental bodies, election-related legislation and its implementation, voter registration, the media environment, and the resolution of election-related disputes.  

While the team will visit a limited number of polling stations on election day, systematic observation of voting, counting or tabulation of results is not envisaged.

A final report on the electoral process will be issued approximately eight weeks after the conclusion of the EET’s work.

Previous elections

The OSCE/ODIHR has observed ten elections in Georgia since 1999, including the most recent parliamentary elections in 2012.