ISFED says they were banned from participating in the working group for 'Election Code' revision for their impartiality
By Liza Mchedlidze
Friday, August 19, 2022
The non-governmental organization International Society for Fair Elections And Democracy (ISFED) was not allowed to participate in the working group created for the revision of the "Election Code" which was created to fulfill the recommendations issued by the European Union for Georgia to obtain candidate status, the first meeting of which was held on August 18. Givi Mikanadze, the head of the working group, told journalists about this and explained the reason for the decision. According to him, "Fair Elections" lost its neutrality when it joined the demand for the dismissal of the Prime Minister. According to Mikanadze, ISFED is an organization "which falsified the results of the parallel counting of 2020, hid them for 7 weeks, and thus tarnished the image of the country".
International Society for Fair Elections And Democracy (ISFED) published a statement, responding to the non-governmental organization not being allowed to participate in the working group created for the revision of the "Election Code". According to them, the ruling party's banning of the organization from participating in the election working group is a limitation of the civil organization's rights and persecution.
As ISFED explains, the government's attitude is a direct demarche against "Fair Elections" and the civil sector as a whole, despite their constructive position and willingness to engage in working groups, adding that such an attitude of the government is caused by the non-acceptance of the organization's impartiality and critical position.
"Today it became known that the ruling party blocked the inclusion of "Fair Elections" in the parliamentary working group on election issues, which was created to fulfill the recommendations issued by the European Union for Georgia to obtain candidate status.
In order to fulfill the recommendations of the European Union, the involvement of the civil society in the work process was recommended by the Western partners, however, the format created by the government excluded the broad representation of the non-governmental sector. The ruling party did not give all willing organizations the opportunity to work on reforms in the desired direction, as it determined only 2 places for them in each working group.
It should be emphasized that in the case of other working groups, the government did not intervene in the selection of organizations submitted by the civil sector, unlike the group working on election issues. The ruling party refused "fair elections" presented by the agreement of the non-governmental sector to participate in this group.
Thus, the government's attitude represents a direct demarche against "fair elections" and the civil sector as a whole, despite their constructive position and willingness to engage in working groups. This attitude of the government is caused by the non-acceptance of the organization's impartiality and critical position. "Fair Elections" believes that the removal of the professional organization from the process actually indicates the formal creation of a working group, the purpose of which, instead of improving the electoral legislation and fulfilling the recommendations of the European Commission, is to prolong the process and create the illusion of readiness to fulfill the recommendations. This decision of the "Georgian Dream", at such a crucial moment for the future of Georgia, is against the national interests of the country.
"Fair Elections" is an independent, leading organization working on election issues with many years of experience, which is proven by the support and cooperation of both local and international partners during the 27 years of the organization's existence.
"Fair Elections" assesses such a position of the ruling party as a limitation of civil society, which significantly harms the country's European integration process. However, the organization is not going to deviate from the chosen path and will continue to work for the promotion of the age-old aspiration of the Georgian people - western integration," the statement reads.
