The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has expressed deep concern over the forced closure of election monitoring operations by local watchdog Transparency International Georgia. The organization and its Executive Director, Eka Gigauri, were declared as entities with declared election objectives by the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
The PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Georgia, Claude Kern and Edite Estrela, along with the head of the Assembly delegation observing Georgia’s forthcoming election, Iulian Bulai, have issued a statement condemning the decision. They state that this action confirms the concerns expressed in a recent resolution that respected civil society organizations with extensive experience in election observation may no longer be able to observe the elections. This, in turn, undermines public trust in the democratic nature of the electoral process.
The PACE representatives urge the relevant authorities to safeguard the legitimacy of the upcoming elections and take all necessary measures to ensure that Transparency International Georgia and other respected election observation CSOs can carry out their work without hindrance or interference. The closure of election monitoring operations by a reputable organization like Transparency International Georgia is unacceptable and has a negative impact on the credibility of the electoral process. The PACE calls for the authorities to take immediate action to address this issue and ensure that the elections are conducted in a transparent and fair manner.
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