Aiming study best international practices for integrating electronic technologies into the election process, representatives of the Election Administration of Georgia, led by the Chairperson of the Central Election Commission (CEC), visited Strasbourg. The training entitled “Modernization of Elections, Challenges and Steps Forward” was organized by the Council of Europe office in Georgia.

The working meeting was opened by Liri Kopaci-Di-Michele, Head of Parliamentary and Elections Cooperation Division of Secretariat of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; Tamar Taliashvili, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Georgia to the Council of Europe; Christian Urse, Deputy to the Director, Directorate of Political Affairs and External Relations of the Council of Europe and Giorgi Kalandarishvili, Chairperson of the CEC of Georgia.

Over the course of two days, representatives from various European institutions shared their experiences with the Georgian CEC representatives on key issues such as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) monitoring and election observation procedures, information security and the use of artificial intelligence in elections, the impact of hate speech on elections, and other important electoral issues.

The meetings were moderated by Frank Deshler, Election Program Coordinator of the Parliamentary and Electoral Cooperation Department of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Within the framework of the visit, members of the Georgian delegation met with representatives of the election observation mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights.

Interesting discussions were held during the meetings. The participants agreed that close communication between the parties will continue regarding various important election issues.

Additionally, during the two-day study visit, members of the Georgian election administration delegation informed representatives of the Council of Europe office about the preparations for the 2024 parliamentary elections and the significant innovations being implemented to ensure these elections meet international and European standards.

The CEC Chairperson also thanked the representatives of the Council of Europe for the years of cooperation and support in strengthening the institution’s capabilities and developing election processes in Georgia.

Senior officials from the Georgian Election Administration and representatives from diverse departments of the Central Election Commission (CEC) actively engaged in the workshops, with participants including the CEC Secretary, the Director of the CEC Training Center, the CEC Spokesperson, as well as representatives from Election Process Management, Election Information Technologies, Strategic Communications, Legal, and Financial departments

The study visit to Georgia was organized and financially supported by the Council of Europe office in Georgia.