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28 March 2004. Tbilisi, Georgia.
Receiving data for the parallel vote tabulations from ISFED
observers in the filed
28 March 2004.
Tbilisi, Georgia. ISFED staff entering data for the parallel vote
tabulation
POST-ELECTION
UPDATE:
The implementing
partner, ISFED, conducted the final preparations for setting up PVT
software and IT equipment on 26-27 March 2004. ISFED media briefings
during the immediate run-up to the elections publicised information
on status of pre-election preparations in various electoral
districts. On the election-day, ISFED deployed its observers to more
than 2,600 polling stations throughout Georgia and provided regular
updates on the parallel vote turnout and the polling procedures.
Procedural violations and observer intimidation were reported during
the election-day in various electoral districts of Kvemo Kartli and
Ajara. In its preliminary statement, ISFED noted, that “the
parliamentary elections can be considered valid, although the
expectation that the elections would be conducted in maximum
possible compliance to international standards could not be
fulfilled”.
In addition to its
qualitative assessment, ISFED released the results of the parallel
turnout (PTT) and parallel vote tabulations (PVT). The final PTT
figure amounted to 62.62 %. The PVT results showed a sweeping
victory of the National Movement - Democrats (67,78%), with New
Rights receiving 7,75% of votes, and Revival Party and Labor Party
appeared not to clear the threshold with only 6,60% and 6,14 % of
votes, respectively.
GEAP observed
teams visited the PVT data collection and processing center in ISFED
HQ at all reporting times (1200hrs, 1700hrs and after the close of
polls) and activities seemed to have been running smoothly. The
phone lines and computers were operational and data from more than
400 PECs (out of 549) collected prior to each press conference,
reporting on the turnout. NDI representatives were present
throughout the process. Although the mobile networks in Ajara were
down in the morning and during shorter intervals during the whole
day, data was received and processed from Ajara throughout the day.
23 MARCH 2004
UPDATE:
ISFED is gearing
all its resources towards the last-phase of preparatory activities
for the election-day, including the conduction of coordination and
planning meetings of district coordinators in Tbilisi and in Kutaisi.
An international PVT Expert arrived in Tbilisi on 19 March 2004 to
assist ISFED in the preparatory work for the PVT. In addition, staff
of the NDI Georgia office continues to provide needed operational
and technical support to ISFED. Along with the installation of PVT
equipment in the ISFED office, training for PVT trainers and
observers commenced on 22 March 2004 and will run until 25 March in
different parts of the country.
18 MARCH 2004 UPDATE:
Following the
signing of the Agreement between the OSCE and the ISFED on 12 March
2004, preparation activities such as training of regular and PVT
observers, training of trainers, media campaigns, etc. have started
in a reinforced manner to achieve the maximum results in the
remaining short period leading up to the elections. While the
general opening of the Observation Campaign was held on 17 March
2004 in Tbilisi, activities at the local level such as regional and
district level trainings and coordination meetings are already well
underway. On 17 March 2004 ISFED reported that activities continue
as planned in Ajara. A tendering committee comprised of UNDP and
OSCE decided on the Association “International Society for Fair
Elections and Democracy” (ISFED) to conduct the PVT for the
Parliamentary Elections.
Joint support from UNDP and OSCE will allow ISFED to
deploy about 2500
domestic observers to precincts across Georgia to undertake the
standard election observation mission as well as the parallel vote
tabulation through a statistical
BACKGROUND
In a political climate likely to be tense (it is a commonplace that
the Parliamentary Elections will be much more challenged than the
Presidential Elections), it is critical that sufficient resources
are allocated to domestic election observation organizations, in
particular enabling them to allocate domestic observers to each and
every precinct throughout the country and to carry out
one parallel vote tabulation. Diversification to
several domestic election observer groups will increase the
chance to receive independent and reliable information.
The aim of this project is to raise public trust in the election
process. Deploying domestic observers throughout the country and
conducting a Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) will provide an
independent account of the election results to provide a firmer
basis for the possibility to challenge the election results in
court, in case of discrepancies. |
