OSCE monitors hit the ground in Georgia
By Temur Kiguradze
Friday, April 11
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights election observation mission has arrived in Georgia to monitor the May parliamentary elections.
The head of the mission, Boris Frlec, met with Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze and Foreign Affairs Minister Davit Bakradze.
After meeting with the parliamentary speaker, Frlec told news media yesterday the observer mission has begun its monitoring of the election environment in Georgia.
“We have no pre-conceived ideas coming to this country. Our role is to monitor the elections, not to interfere,” the mission chief said. The observer mission will publish two interim reports on election preparations before the May 21 poll date, he said.
“He is an experienced diplomat and politician,” commented the chair of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Kote Gabashvili, after meeting Frlec.
Frlec is a former Slovenian foreign minister. He led the OSCE observer mission for last year’s parliamentary elections in Armenia, which were ultimately judged to be “largely in accordance” with democratic standards.
The OSCE will occupy a delicate role in the upcoming elections. The previous OSCE mission head labelled the January presidential election a “triumphant step” for democracy soon after election day. The results of that election are disputed within Georgia, and opposition campaigners accused the OSCE of turning blind eyes to election fraud.
But opposition politicians changed their tune when the OSCE’s final report on the election, while deeming it “in essence” democratic, specified a number of specific irregularities and shortcomings.
Most opposition leaders now speak positively of the election monitors.
“This mission is very important to make Saakashvili go away,” says Kakha Kukava, a leader of the Conservatives and the nine-party opposition coalition.
Davit Berdzenishvili, a leader of the moderate Republicans, said the OSCE was respectable but expressed hope it will “behave better than it did last time and not make hasty conclusions.”
In addition to nearly three dozen core staff and long-term observers, the OSCE mission plans to deploy 350 short-term observers to monitor the May 21 parliamentary elections.
The head of the mission, Boris Frlec, met with Parliamentary Speaker Nino Burjanadze and Foreign Affairs Minister Davit Bakradze.
After meeting with the parliamentary speaker, Frlec told news media yesterday the observer mission has begun its monitoring of the election environment in Georgia.
“We have no pre-conceived ideas coming to this country. Our role is to monitor the elections, not to interfere,” the mission chief said. The observer mission will publish two interim reports on election preparations before the May 21 poll date, he said.
“He is an experienced diplomat and politician,” commented the chair of parliament’s foreign affairs committee, Kote Gabashvili, after meeting Frlec.
Frlec is a former Slovenian foreign minister. He led the OSCE observer mission for last year’s parliamentary elections in Armenia, which were ultimately judged to be “largely in accordance” with democratic standards.
The OSCE will occupy a delicate role in the upcoming elections. The previous OSCE mission head labelled the January presidential election a “triumphant step” for democracy soon after election day. The results of that election are disputed within Georgia, and opposition campaigners accused the OSCE of turning blind eyes to election fraud.
But opposition politicians changed their tune when the OSCE’s final report on the election, while deeming it “in essence” democratic, specified a number of specific irregularities and shortcomings.
Most opposition leaders now speak positively of the election monitors.
“This mission is very important to make Saakashvili go away,” says Kakha Kukava, a leader of the Conservatives and the nine-party opposition coalition.
Davit Berdzenishvili, a leader of the moderate Republicans, said the OSCE was respectable but expressed hope it will “behave better than it did last time and not make hasty conclusions.”
In addition to nearly three dozen core staff and long-term observers, the OSCE mission plans to deploy 350 short-term observers to monitor the May 21 parliamentary elections.