**OSCE Urges Tbilisi to Reform Electoral System**
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has called on the Georgian government to make changes to its electoral process. This is according to a report released on December 20.
In the October parliamentary elections, the pro-Russian party “Georgian Dream” claimed a big victory. However, many people said that the election was unfair and some even protested in the streets of Tbilisi.
The OSCE said that Georgia’s laws are not bad, but recent changes have made things worse. They also said that there were problems on election day, such as voters being intimidated and unequal financial resources for different parties.
Additionally, the OSCE mentioned that the media landscape is polarized and women are underrepresented in politics. This has led to a lack of trust in the electoral process among the public.
**Key Recommendations**
The OSCE report makes several recommendations to improve Georgia’s electoral system. These include:
* Preventing voter intimidation
* Reviewing current laws to make them more democratic
* Improving campaign finance oversight
* Protecting vote secrecy
* Changing the way election commissioners are appointed
The OSCE does not recognize or endorse any elections, but instead provides assessments of electoral processes so that voters can form their own opinions.
**Continued Protests**
Despite these recommendations, opposition parties in Georgia still refuse to accept the results of the October parliamentary election. They claim that the election was stolen and have filed lawsuits against the government. However, a Tbilisi court has dismissed 11 of these lawsuits.
The “Georgian Dream” party, founded by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, has led Georgia closer to Russia while hindering its accession to the European Union. The controversial foreign agents law adopted earlier this year has effectively frozen Georgia’s EU accession process.
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