“During the 2024 pre-election period, unprecedented changes in political, legal, and administrative matters were implemented that limit political competition.” These manipulations create an unequal space for electorate subjects before the election” – Dan Twining, IRI representative Dan Twining said when presenting the results of the election monitoring.
Margareta Cederfelt is one of the leaders of the same group. She stated that Georgian Dream had used state resources to boost its pre-election campaigns.
“Georgian Dream used state resources very close to the election to boost its campaign as well as reduce voter turnout. To do this, it used local representatives. It was very clear that public officials were constantly intimidated and under pressure. Georgian Dream also controlled many local government officials. There was also an intimidation campaign that threatened to cut off social assistance if local residents did not vote for Georgian Dream.
These changes increase the suspicions about political bias and imbalance within the election commissions. “These are the reasons why trust in election commissions is very low in terms of impartiality and independence,” she said.
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