Archil Gorduladze, the ruling Georgian Dream party MP, on Friday welcomed an interim report of the Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights on parliamentary election environment in Georgia scheduled for later this month.

Gorduladze noted the report, published early on Friday, covered matters such as legal framework and electoral system, election administration, election technologies, rights and registration of voters and candidates, electoral environment and finance, media landscape, election dispute resolution, election monitoring, and many more.

The OSCE/ODIHR’s assessment of the pre-election environment in Georgia is to be welcomed. The public can also see the pre-election campaign is taking place in an unprecedentedly calm, free, and competitive environment, without any major incidents or significant violations. The violations that have occurred are merely isolated incidents”, he said.

The official highlighted the absence of “violence, vote buying, illegal use of administrative resources, and other systemic manipulations”, and noted it reflected the “results of our authorities' firm will and the reforms we have implemented”.

The OSCE/ODIHR stresses that the [Georgia’s] Central Election Commission is managing the process in full compliance with all deadlines and conducting large-scale informational campaigns. ODIHR welcomes the measures taken by the CEC aimed at informing voters, simplifying the use of new technologies, and ensuring their effective utilisation. We fully share the positive assessments regarding the CEC’s professionalism and institutional capabilities”, he noted.

The MP also said the report reflected the “positive progress in legal and practical developments concerning the voter list, electoral dispute resolution, and rights and registration of voters and candidates”.

The interim report also notes that the media landscape in Georgia is diverse but polarised. As you are well-aware, opposition-affiliated channels are deliberately blocking the Georgian Dream’s [ruling party] campaign video ads without any legal justification, thereby violating Georgian law and creating a discriminatory and unequal media environment during the pre-election period. As a result, the Georgian Dream lost over five hours of free advertising time and got irreparable damage. We have conveyed detailed information on this fact that unfortunately, was not yet included in the interim report. But we hope that it will be properly included and assessed in the final report”, Gorduladze said.

We welcome that the report includes the incident of the Georgian Dream member Ermile Gigiaze’s death [last month] following a verbal attack by a United National Movement activist in Tskaltubo [in Georgia’s west]. It is important for the international community to clearly see the true face of the opposition, which hides behind a mask of civility. We also welcome that the report reflects the fact that both the opposition and so-called local observer non-governmental organisations do not attend the meetings of the Interagency Task Force for Free and Fair Elections”, he noted.

Gorduladze noted the ruling party had also provided ODIHR representatives tasked with observing the upcoming general elections, with “additional information that the majority of opposition parties have not signed the Code of Ethics developed by the Central Election Commission”, and expressed optimism that this matter would be reflected in the next report.

It is welcoming that the election observation missions highlighted the concerns regarding political goals of local observer organisations. We conveyed evidence to the ODIHR EOM on party affiliations and political goals of certain observer organisations. We hope that these details will also be properly reflected in the next report”, Gorduladze said.

We extend our gratitude to the CEC, the [country’s] Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and all the agencies that are responsible for ensuring the peaceful, free, and professional conduct of the elections”, he added.

The official also extended his gratitude to the OSCE/ODIHR representatives for their efforts, and noted the GD  continued to “maintain close communication with them to ensure that the assessments in the final report are based solely on facts and not on unfounded accusations from interested parties”.

Finally, we would like to add that these elections are taking place against the backdrop of unprecedented external interference, with the opposition's pre-election campaign being practically directed from outside, which is entirely anomalous and unacceptable. We have conveyed concrete facts and evidence to the ODIHR EOM and hopefully, the final report will properly reflect these violations. Nethertheless, today the public approaches the elections much more prepared and better informed, ensuring that the scenarios attempted during the 2020 [parliamentary] elections will not be repeated”, he noted.

The official also emphasised the “primary goal of the authorities is to ensure that elections in Georgia are conducted in accordance with international democratic standards”, calling on “all participants in the elections, observers, and other interested parties, both domestic and international”, to refrain from “artificially discrediting the electoral process, to cooperate with the responsible agencies in maintaining order, and to facilitate the transparent conduct of the elections in accordance with international standards”.