Information Meeting of Fact-Finding Commission into October 31, 2020 Parliamentary Elections with Diplomatic Corps and Representatives of International Organizations
The Commission held an information meeting with the diplomatic corps and international and local non-governmental organizations that monitored the October 2020 elections.
The Chairman of the Commission, Givi Mikanadze, thanked the representatives of the embassies and international organizations involved in the facilitation and mediation process for their work and interest, and noted that the Commission aims to make the process absolutely transparent, and public – "This is an informational meeting with our Western partners and representatives of the NGO sector. Our goal is to make this process absolutely transparent. All meetings and activities held within the Commission are broadcast live. This interest underscores once again the fact that the current political processes in the EU member states and the United States are of particular importance and our current desire is to introduce them to the initial stage that the Commission is carrying out”.
G. Mikanadze once again called on the parliamentary opposition to take part in the work of the Commission - "The statements of the opposition are baseless in every way. If they want to do something, show their position, there is a structural unit with the highest legitimacy and authority in the Parliament. This door is still open, they are welcome to take part in this process”.
The Chairman of the Commission informed the representatives of the diplomatic corps and non-governmental organizations about the mandate of the Commission and detailed the action plans of the Commission, which include, among other things, request the information from the CEC, MIA and the Prosecutor General's Office.
G. Mikanadze also spoke about the methodology of selection and number of polling stations, counting the ballot papers according to the polling stations, compiling and approving the list of persons invited to the Commission session.
"We will have a recount process at the first stage, the methodology of which will be agreed on after receiving the information from the CEC. After that, we will have a discussion in the format of the Commission and when we accomplish this process, we will compile a list of persons, including political entities, representatives of the non-governmental sector, who observed the election process. Based on this list, they will be invited to provide an explanation so that we can see what evidence they hold. The main mission of the Commission is to answer all the questions and show the real picture to the public. We are going to collect as much information as possible on a large scale, taking into account all the components, which will allow us to answer all the questions before the public regarding any possible irregularities and their impact on the final outcome”, - G. Mikanadze elucidated.
According to the member of the Commission, Aluda Ghudushauri, the Commission will be highly effective, and the process will be maximally transparent to answer all the questions.
"The goal of our Commission is to answer all the questions and accusations that were heard from the opposition regarding the elections. It is important for the opposition to be involved in this process and take an active part in it. The Commission is open, transparent and all interested parties have the opportunity to follow the process. This Commission is the most capable platform that allows the complainant to present their own arguments and be a participant and creator in the process, so that we can jointly plan the way, study and exhaust all the questions that our society has heard from the opposition”.
Fridon Injia, a member of the Commission and a representative of the European Socialists, thanked the invited guests for their participation in the facilitation process. As he noted, the refusal of the opposition to get involved in the work of the Commission once again proves that their accusations were not grounded and were aimed at creating an artificial crisis - "Our partners and friends have done a great job in drafting a memorandum that we have signed and that has lifted the artificially created crisis. If the crisis was not created artificially, then those opposition parties should submit the factual material for which they boycotted the Parliament”.
The members of the Commission answered the questions regarding the openness of the process, methodology, competence of the counters.
Representatives of the diplomatic corps and NGOs thanked the members of the Commission for their work in the first stage, expressed their views and asked the questions.
They also confirmed their commitment to further cooperation.