NDI publishes its second assessment of the pre-election environment

By Natalia Kochiashvili

Thursday, October 22

“Georgia’s media environment is among the freest and most diverse in the region, but it is highly polarized, potentially impacting citizens’ ability to make informed electoral choices.”

Although GD participated in the Georgian Public Broadcaster debate on October 15th, the majority of both national and regional outlets, particularly those viewed as opposition-leaning or critical of the government, report that the ruling party has avoided or ignored their programs.

The National Democratic Institute (NDI), has released its second ballot paper assessing the pre-election environment. The bulletin is based on the analysis of a team of 8 international experts and their assistants.

The first NDI bulletin covered the election administration and the campaign environment, while the second bulletin assessed information space and the involvement of underrepresented groups.

The survey covers the period from August 20th to October 20th, stating that the media environment in Georgia is one of the freest and most diverse in the region, albeit highly polarized, which may affect the informed decision-making of citizens. The bulletin covers incidents of interference in the activities of journalists, including incidents such as a protest that forced a radio station in Pankisi to temporarily suspend broadcasting; Threatening to kill a journalist in Bolnisi; 2 violent confrontations in Marneuli in which reporters and members of the film crew were injured.

The bulletin also notes that in recent weeks, traditional media outlets have been holding national and local debates with the participation of political parties, although many media outlets have stated that it was difficult to secure the Georgian Dream's participation in the debate.

The criticism was also expressed towards the Georgian National Communications Commission. In particular, it was said that the commission was politically biased and focused more on controlling the opposition media.

NDI's Second Pre-Election Assessment Bulletin states that, according to a report by the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, Facebook was used by 17 political parties and 117 majoritarian candidates in the summer elections. However, according to the same report, the anonymous pages actively discredited both the ruling and opposition parties. The exception was the Alliance of Patriots, which was not the target of anonymous pages. According to the NDI Bulletin, these online discrediting campaigns are conducted within the country. The campaign against the opposition gives the impression that it is coordinated and well-funded.

Misinformation spread on social networks was also related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this regard, the NDI bulletin discusses the recent resumption of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh, which have given rise to new narratives of disinformation. From September 17th to October 15th, 2 independent Georgian fact-checking organizations working with Facebook uncovered and dismissed 46 widespread misconceptions, the study said.

The study notes that despite the existing legislative mechanisms, the political representation of ethnic and religious minorities, persons with disabilities, and members of the LGBT community is low. The importance of the gender quota mechanism in increasing women's representation is noted, although it is emphasized that most political parties do not name women at the top of the lists. According to the survey, women are often ranked fourth on the list, which means that parties that win less than four seats will most likely not be able to field a female candidate in Parliament. The study also notes that the issues of underrepresented groups are generally not adequately reflected in parties' pre-declared goals.

The second NDI Pre-Election Environment Newsletter concludes with recommendations:

The Georgian National Communications Commission, in coordination with the CEC, should take additional steps to publicize rules and proactively ensure compliance among the media and political parties.

To safeguard voters’ access to balanced and reliable information, political parties and candidates should participate in all available debates and political programs to present their policies and plans to the public.

Media outlets and journalists should be allowed to perform their legitimate functions and exercise their rights, in keeping with journalistic ethics, without interference. Authorities should investigate alleged incidents promptly and ensure that the perpetrators are adequately sanctioned.

To increase transparency and avoid circumvention of the campaign finance rules, the electoral code should include provisions on the declaration of pages or social media used for campaign purposes. To increase their capacity to vet online advertising, state authorities should also establish communication with Facebook before elections.

The government, political parties, civil society groups, journalists, and online platforms should continue and expand efforts to detect and mitigate disinformation in the elections, as well as implement long-term strategies to strengthen information integrity and community resilience.

Political parties should put in place internal mechanisms to ensure women candidates are supported throughout the remainder of the campaign.

In the remaining days of the campaign, parties should make a deliberate effort to provide concrete details and steps regarding how they would address issues of importance to marginalized populations.

Political parties and candidates should avoid topics that risk increasing division or tensions, including the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh, and instead focus campaigns on program priorities and speak more directly to the needs of minority communities in Georgia.

Political parties should sign on to the multi-party memorandum against the use of homophobic language in elections.

Due to the pandemic, the NDI will not send an observation mission to Georgia in the October parliamentary elections.