On October 20-21,  2011, Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) and Transparency International – Georgia held public discussions about the Election Code reform in Kutaisi and Batumi. Representatives of local NGOs, media outlets, political parties, district election commissions and local authorities participated in the meetings.

The meetings focused on presentation of recommendations and comments elaborated by three NGOs about the draft Election Code. The recommendations deal with the new election system offered by the draft, norms regulating use of administrative resources, transparency of campaign funding and monitoring, formation of voter lists, work of the election administration and problems related to election dispute procedures.

The NGOs conclude that the proposed draft fails to offer any essential changes for improvement of the election environment.

The work in this direction will continue in cooperation with the Parliament of Georgia and other stakeholders. The NGOs will hold similar meetings in other regions of Georgia.