Giorgi Kalandarishvili, the Chairperson of the Central Election Commission (CEC), met with Katherine Ellena, the Vice President for programs of the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), Renata Levovski, the country director of Georgia (IFES), and David Ghongadze, the deputy country director of Georgia, (IFES). The main topic of the meeting was the preparation process for the Parliamentary Elections of October 26.
During the meeting, the activities undertaken and those currently in progress by the Election Administration (EA) to facilitate the organization of the elections were discussed. Giorgi Kalandarishvili emphasized that the EA is fully committed to ensuring that the elections of October 26 are conducted at a high professional standard in accordance with international norms. He provided representatives of IFES with information regarding the number of registered electoral subjects, observer organizations, and media outlets. He also discussed the implementation of electronic voting technologies and the extensive campaign aimed at informing voters in this regard, as well as the challenges the institution faces in combating the spread of disinformation.
During the meeting, the projects undertaken in various areas with the support of the IFES were highlighted, along with their significance in the preparation for the upcoming elections. The Chairperson of the CEC believes that the longstanding collaboration will continue, resulting in further benefits for both the institution and the electoral process as a whole.
The Chairperson of the CEC also conducted a tour of the Operational Infrastructure (Warehouse) for the representatives of the IFES. Giorgi Kalandarishvili provided an overview of the ongoing activities within the operational infrastructure and highlighted that the arrangement of the warehouse was planned and implemented taking into account the international practice of technological intervention in the field of elections in order to organize the modernized elections of 2024 at a high level.