Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has issued a final report on the parliamentary elections held in Georgia on October 1. The report recommends measures to enhance legislative framework in the country.

According to the report, the elections marked an important step in consolidating the conduct of democratic elections in line with the OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and other international standards for democratic elections as well as national legislation, although certain key issues remain to be addressed.

The report notes that the elections were competitive, with active citizen participation throughout the campaign, including in peaceful mass rallies. However, the electoral sphere in the country was polarized and tense, characterized by the frequent use of harsh rhetoric and a few instances of violence, it said.

OSCE ODIHR adds that the distinction between state activities and the campaign of the ruling party was at times blurred.

It assesses the new Election Code as generally conducive for democratic elections, noting that some previous recommendations, including permitting independent candidacy, were implemented. Some shortcomings remain, however, such as the disparity in population sizes among single mandate constituencies, according to the OSCE website.

The report contains recommendations on how to address the deficiencies in the legal framework regulating party and campaign finance, to ensure balanced news coverage during elections and to improve the accuracy of voter lists.

It concludes that, due to the number of issues raised in this and previous reports, consideration should be given to initiating a comprehensive review of the electoral legal framework.

Although some technical and procedural elements can be improved before the presidential election, expected to be held in October 2013, the report notes that significant changes should not be introduced to the legal framework less than a year before that event.

In total, 2,757 candidates, including 783 women, contested 150 parliamentary seats at the October 1 elections. The election ended with the victory of incumbent Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili`s coalition Georgian Dream. Georgian Dream won 85-seat majority in parliament, leaving 65 seats to President Mikheil Saakashvili's United National Movement.