International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy Final

International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy Final Report for the period of February 11th, 2016- March 31st, 2017 Strengthening Political and Electoral Environment for Democracy in Georgia (SPEED) USAID Cooperative Agreement No. AID-114-A-16-00002 Total budget: $ 1,385,030

I. SUMMARY

On February 11th, 2016 ISFED signed the contract with the USAID on the new project: `Strengthening Political and Electoral Environment for Democracy in Georgia (SPEED)`.

At the first stage of the project, in March and April, ISFED had the introductory and consultation meetings with the USAID representatives on the financial and program related issues. Taking into consideration the needs assessment of the project and feedback received from the USAID representatives, the Project Core Team (PCT) updated the project PMP and the work plan, which was submitted to the donor in May.

In March-April, ISFED worked on research and study of the new electoral districts determined by the Central Election Commission (CEC)1.

Within the project, ISFED selected two new staff members on the positions of the Program Manager and the Project Assistant. In May, organization started the recruitment process of Long Term observers (LTOs) for monitoring the pre-election period.

In April, the PCT organized the meeting for the central office staff members, presented and discussed the new redistribution, boarders and functions of the electoral districts.

On May 3-5, ISFED organized the retreat to Kakheti region. The meetings held at the retreat were attended by ten central and five regional office staff members and covered the topics related with the observation of the pre-election period. Follow up the retreat, ISFED developed the recruitment plan of Long Term Observers (LTOs), methodology of observation, reporting and communication system for the pre-election period and

1 On January 8, 2016 the Parliament adopted the amendments in the Election Code. To maintain the equality of votes, the electoral districts were divided or unified more or less proportionally, based on the number of voters. 1

designed the module of LTO trainings. The pre-election monitoring forms and instructions were being updated as well.

In May, the PCT members met with the contracted ICT expert. Based on discussions regarding the new electoral boarders, methodology of observation and monitoring forms, the needed updates in the LTO database had been agreed and planned. ISFED also drafted the activity timeline for the whole Election cycle, including the pre-election, the Election Day and the post-election periods.

Due to the fact, that the official pre-election campaign for the 2016 Parliamentary Elections started four months previous to the Election Day2, ISFED rescheduled some pre-election related activities and worked on searching the additional funds to start the pre-election monitoring earlier, than it was budgeted in the USAID funded project. ISFED applied with the proposal for co-funding the pre-election monitoring to the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The grant was approved and covered expenses of the pre-election monitoring activities for one month3. ISFED also got funds to cover the Election Day expenses from the Embassy of the Netherlands, European Union (EU) and Federal Foreign office of Germany.

In June ISFED revised, updated and finalized the module of LTO trainings and developed materials (instructions and monitoring forms) for Long Term Observers. Based on amendments in methodology the LTO database was updated by ICT expert as well. At the end of June ISFED conducted the trainings for 68 Long Term Observers. In the beginning of July LTOs started the monitoring of the pre-election period in their respective districts.

In the beginning of July, ISFED started active preparations for the Election Day. ISFED project core team designed the modules for trainings, developed the methodology of observation, prepared and printed instructions, manuals and monitoring forms for the whole observation mission including Long Term Observers (LTOs), Short Term Observers (STOs), mobile teams, District Election Commission Observers (DEC), post- election observers and lawyers. ISFED also developed the random sample of 600 polling stations and additionally identified around 200 potentially interesting and problematic polling stations for observation. The Incident and SMS centers were arranged at the Central office as well. In August-September ISFED recruited and accredited around 1000 STOs.

In September ISFED conducted the trainings for STO trainers, STOs, mobile teams, DEC observers, post-election observers and lawyers.

2 The president announced the start date for official pre-election campaign on June 8, 2016, which means that the pre-election period, will start two months earlier, than it was for previous Parliamentary Elections in 2012. The Election Day will be held on October 8, 2016; 3 NED grant covers the expenses of LTOs as honoraria, transportation, and communication for one month. 2

In the beginning of October, ISFED had the final steps of preparatory activities for the Election Day of 2016 Parliamentary Elections. ISFED conducted the training of data entry operators and the final briefings for short-term observers in their respective regions.

On October 3rd, ISFED held a simulation of the Election Day monitoring methodology - Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT)4.

ISFED carried out the pre-election monitoring of the October 8, 2016 Parliamentary Elections through 68 long-term observers (LTOs) in all election districts of Georgia over the period of three months5 prior to the Election Day. ISFED issued four reports6 on the pre-election findings.

Pre-election monitoring7 of the runoffs on October 30 was conducted by 38 LTOs of ISFED in 50 election districts8 where majoritarian MP candidates could not clear 50%+1 threshold in the first round of the parliamentary elections. ISFED issued one report9 on the pre-election findings for the second tour.

ISFED observation mission for the October 8, 2016 Parliamentary Elections comprised of nearly 1000 accredited and trained observers deployed in precinct, district and central electoral commissions. ISFED short-term observers (STOs) monitored the process of voting and tabulation in PECs through the Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) methodology 10. ISFED issued five statements11 on the Election Day findings.

ISFED observed the rerun elections of October 22, 2016 in all four electoral precincts and both DECs in Zugdidi no.66 and Marneuli no.36 majoritarian election districts12.

ISFED monitored the runoffs on October 30, 2016 in 50 election districts of Georgia. ISFED monitoring mission for the runoffs consisted of nearly 700 observers assigned to the all levels of election commissions. Similar to the first round of the parliamentary

4 http://www.isfed.ge/main/1148/eng/ 5 The long-term observation of the pre-election period for the first round of the elections ran from July 1 to October 7. 6http://www.isfed.ge/main/1100/eng/;http://www.isfed.ge/main/1118/eng/;http://www.isfed.ge/main/1131/e ng/; http://www.isfed.ge/main/1147/eng/ 7 Pre-election monitoring of the runoffs ran from October 9 to October 27. 8 Mtatsminda, Vake, Saburtalo, Krtsanisi, Isani, Samgori, Chughureti, Didube, Nadzaladevi, Gldani, Sagarejo, Gurjaani, Lagodekhi, Kvareli, Telavi, Akhmeta, Mtskheta, Rustavi, Marneuli, Gardabani, Kaspi, Gori, Khashuri, Akhaltsikhe, Adigeni, Kutaisi (three majoritarian districts), Kharagauli, Baghdati, Zestaponi, Chiatura, Lanchkhuti, Ozurgeti, Chokhatauri, Poti, Senaki, Abasha, Khobi, Zugdidi, Tsalenjikha, Chkhorotsku, Batumi (three majoritarian districts), Kobuleti, Khelvachauri, Keda. 9 http://www.isfed.ge/main/1165/eng/ 10 PVT is an election observation methodology that enables detection of irregularities in a timely manner, evaluation of the entirety Election Day process and verification of accuracy of official results. PVT relies on statistical methods and information and communication technology (ICT) to provide accurate and timely information about the process of voting and tabulation. PVT provides the most accurate and timely information on the conduct of voting and counting and is the only methodology that can independently verify accuracy of the official results as announced by the electoral commission. 11http://www.isfed.ge/main/1152/eng/;http://www.isfed.ge/main/1153/eng/;http://www.isfed.ge/main/1157/ eng/; http://www.isfed.ge/main/1158/eng/; http://www.isfed.ge/main/1159/eng/ 12 http://www.isfed.ge/main/1162/eng/ 3

elections, ISFED relied on PVT for monitoring the runoffs. ISFED issued five statements13 on the Election Day findings for the second tour.

ISFED monitored the post-election period after the first round by means of 68 observers and lawyers. ISFED observation focused on activities of the election administration, complaints process in DECs and the creation of summary protocols. A total of 42 ISFED observers monitored the post-election period following the runoff elections.

In connection to 109 violations, ISFED filed 102 complaints with PEC, and in connection to 462 violations, ISFED filed 244 complaints with DECs. Two complaints were filed in Batumi City Court and one in Kutaisi Appellate Court.

On March 10th, 2017 ISFED held the presentation of the final report on monitoring of 2016 Parliamentary Elections14.

II. BACKGROUND

The 2016 Parliamentary Elections were very significant since the term of office for MPs is 4 years. The electoral system has remained the same, and much like the previous Parliamentary Elections, was held based on a mixed electoral system where MPs are elected through both single mandate constituencies as well as through a proportional system. Despite the consensus reached in 2015 among NGOs, a wide spectrum of opposition parties, along with the involvement of the president for replacing the current electoral system with a fully proportional one, the parliament has still failed to enact the subsequent constitutional changes.

There were two constitutional bills under consideration by the Georgian Parliament. According to the bill initiated by the ruling party, changing the current electoral system and replacing it with a fully regional-proportional system should happen only after the 2016 parliamentary elections. In contrast, the proposal of opposition parties offers a transition to a regional-proportional system for the 2016 parliamentary elections. Neither of the two initiatives have secured a sufficient number of votes for passing.

Notably, at the end of the parliamentary session period, one of the members of the ruling coalition, the Republican Party, changed its position and initiated a new draft of amendments to the Election Code for transitioning to the so-called German Model, which does not require Constitutional changes. Despite pledges made by the parliamentary and non-parliamentary parties in support of changing electoral system, the initiative could not secure enough votes from opposition parties in the parliament.

13http://www.isfed.ge/main/1170/eng/;http://www.isfed.ge/main/1171/eng/;http://www.isfed.ge/main/1172/ eng/; http://www.isfed.ge/main/1173/eng/; http://www.isfed.ge/main/1174/eng/ 14 http://www.isfed.ge/main/1202/eng/. 4

The previous Parliamentary Elections featured 2 parties with the slightly equal political power – “United National Movement” as a ruling party on one hand, and the coalition “Georgian Dream” on the other, consolidating the following 6 political opposition parties: ,,Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia”, “Irakli Alasania – Free Democrats”, “Industry Saves Georgia”, “National Forum”, “Conservative Party” and “Republican Party”. We had a different picture upon the 2016 Parliamentary Elections. The former members of present ruling party, Georgia Dream, ran independently for 2016 Parliamentary Elections in October, leading to a more pluralist environment of the pre- election period considering the participation of political parties. Furthermore, the formation of new political parties lead to a more diverse election environment.

On April 5th, 2016 the President of Georgia announced the date of the Election Day – October 8th. The date for the official pre-election campaign was set for June 8th, 2016.

On May 28th, 2015, the Constitutional Court of Georgia upheld the appeal submitted by the Ombudsmen of Georgia (Ucha Nanuashvili) and Mikheil Sharashidze. In the appeal claimants were addressing the issue related with the existing redistribution of electoral boarders, which they considered discriminative due to the huge differences between the numbers of voters. The Court considered the existing redistribution of electoral boarders unconstitutional and called for the amendments in the regulations regarding the formation of electoral boarders to the Parliament of Georgia and the Central Election Commission (CEC). On January 8th, 2016 the Parliament adopted the amendments in the Election Code. To maintain the equality of votes, the Electoral districts were divided or unified more or less proportionally, based on the number of voters15. It should be noted, that the total number of majoriatarian districts remained the same (73). But the status and duties of the electoral districts have been changed. Specifically, some electoral districts will have functions of the `main` electoral districts and some -`assistants`. After the President of Georgia called the Parliamentary Elections, existing and newly created parties both announced their intent to participate in the elections. Among them was a political force created by former members of the United National Movement16, which eventually joined the Coalition State for the People founded by Paata Burchuladze.17 Some of the non-parliamentary parties created a political bloc. 18 As the deadline for registration of electoral subjects drew near, the ruling coalition Georgian Dream dissolved and some of its former members registered as independent electoral subjects for the parliamentary elections. 19

Certain irregularities were detected in the practice of registration of electoral subjects by the CEC. Later on the basis of a statement made by the Public Register it was found that

15 Approximately: 45 000 - 47 000 voters per district. 16 New Political Center – Girchi, Giorgi Vashadze’s Civic Platform – New Georgia; 17 Prior to the elections, Girchi left the coalition Paata Burchuladze – State for the People after Burchuladze alleged that leaders of the party were secretly communicating with the founder of the ruling party, Bidzina Ivanishvili. 18 Davit Tarkhan-Mouravi, Irma Inashvili – Alliance of Georgian Patriots-United Opposition 19 Free Democrats, the Republican Party, the National Forum 5

documents used by the CEC to register several parties were inadequate and inappropriate. After studying this matter, ISFED found that the CEC had practiced pro forma approach to registration of several political parties. 20

Eventually a total of 19 political parties and 6 electoral blocs participated in the October 8, 2016 parliamentary elections.21

In the first round of majoritarian races of the October 8, 2016 parliamentary elections, winning candidates were identified only in 23 out of 73 single-mandate constituencies. Consequently, for the remaining 50 majoritarian seats the second round of elections had to be scheduled. The Central Elections Commission (CEC) set the date of majoritarian runoffs in 50 election districts for October 30.

Following the first round, top two candidates in 44 majoritarian election districts were from the Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia and the United National Movement; in two districts the highest numbers of votes were received by the Georgian Dream’s majoritarian candidate and independent majoritarian candidates; in another two districts candidates of the Free Democrats and the Georgian Dream competed for the seats; in one majoritarian district the runoff identified a winner between Topadze-Industrialists and the Georgian Dream candidates, and in one majoritarian district a candidate of the United National Movement and an independent candidate competed against each other.

In two of the fifty majoritarian constituencies where the runoffs were held, two majoritarian candidates – opposition leaders Sandra Roelofs (the UNM) and Irakli Alasania (the Free Democrats) announced withdrawal from the second round contests. Their names remained on the election ballots because the election legislation does not envisage the possibility of cancelling registration of candidates that qualify for the second round of elections.

With calling of the runoff elections, opposition party candidates started reporting acts of harassment and intimidation of their supporters or coordinators in different election districts. Most of the candidates that reported harassment of opposition supporters by the authorities and the ruling party activists were candidates of the United National Movement and the Free Democrats.

Based on the results of the runoffs, the ruling party candidates gained victory in 48 majoritarian election districts. An independent candidate Salome Zurabishvili and a candidate of Topadze-Industrialists won the remaining two seats.

20 Detailed information is available at: http://www.isfed.ge/main/1131/geo/ pp.23-29 21 See: http://cesko.ge/res/docs/PartiebiParlamenti201629.09.2016.pdf 6

III. PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

Announcement of dates for the pre-election period and the Election Day

On April 5th, 2016 the President of Georgia announced the date of the Election Day. The Election Day was held on October 8th, 2016. The date for the official pre-election campaign was set for June 8th, 2016.

It should be noted, that the pre-election campaign began two months earlier, than it started for the last three elections - Parliamentary Elections, 2012, Presidential Elections, 2013 and Local Elections, 2014.

According to the above-mentioned, ISFED changed its plan and rescheduled some activities as LTO recruitment and accreditation process, LTO trainings and pre-election monitoring.

Co-funding process

Due to the fact, that the official pre-election campaign will start four months previous to the Election Day22, ISFED started to search for the additional funding to start pre-election monitoring earlier, than it’s budgeted in the current USAID project.

ISFED applied with the proposal for co-funding the pre-election period to the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The grant was approved and covered expenses of the pre-election activities for one month23.

Herewith, ISFED received additional funds to cover the Election Day expenses from the European Union (EU), Embassy of the Netherlands and Federal Foreign office of Germany.

Meetings with donor

In the beginning of March, ISFED had the introductory meeting with the representatives of USAID responsible for the current project. The meeting was focused on the introduction of persons responsible for the financial and program management from the both (USAID and ISFED) sides.

On April 6th, 2016 ISFED Executive Director (Mikheil benidze) and Deputy Director/Elections Project Coordinator (Tamar Bartaia) met with the representatives of USAID – the Program Management Specialists (Ninka Buachidze, Khatuna Kunchulia) and the Program Development Management Specialist (Lela Kerashvili). The meeting

22 The president announced the start date for official pre-election campaign on June 8, 2016, which means that the pre-election period, will start two months earlier, than it was for previous Parliamentary Elections in 2012. The Election Day will be held on October 8, 2016; 23 NED grant covers the expenses of LTOs as honoraria, transportation, and communication for one month. 7

focused on the reporting and communication system between ISFED and donor and needed amendments for the PMP and work plan of the project. Follow up the meeting, based on the feedback received from USAID representatives, the Executive Director, Program Manager and Election Project Coordinator updated the project PMP and work plan and submitted to the donor in May.

During the project ISFED periodically had meetings with the representatives of USAID to discuss the details and activities of the current project.

Recruitment of the new staff members

In March, ISFED announced two vacancies on the positions of the Program Manager and the Project Assistant. Organization developed criteria of selection and evaluation forms. In April, staff recruitment commission conducted the interviews with the candidates and selected the new Program Manager and the new Project Assistant within the current project.

In May, ISFED started the recruitment process of Long Term Observers. Based on developed selection criteria, organization recruited 52 LTOs from the pool of already experienced ISFED district coordinators. On 16 vacancies24 organization announced the public contest and uploaded the information on the site - www.jobs.ge. At the first round of selection process, ISFED went through the applied CVs and defined the candidates for the second round- interviews. The interviews with the candidates were conducted in June.

New Electoral boarders

24 The vacancies have been announced in the following districts: Sagarejo, Kutaisi, Terjola, Tkibuli, Khoni, Senaki, Baghdati, Isani, Gldani, Dusheti, Gardabani, Tsalka, Ozurgeti, Borjomi, Khashuri, Akhalkalaki. 25 Approximately: 45 000 - 47 000 voters per district. 8

Due to the amendments regarding the electoral districts, ISFED conducted research and study on each electoral district determined by the CEC.

On April 10th, 2016 the planning meeting was held at the Central office staff. The Project Core Team consisting from the executive staff and lawyers attended the meeting. The meeting was focused on the new redistribution of the electoral districts. It was agreed to conduct the retreat on the pre-election observation and present and discuss the new electoral districts with the regional coordinators for their feedback as well.

Preparatory activities for the pre-election monitoring

On May 3-5 ISFED organized the retreat to Kvareli hotel `Edemi`. The meeting was attended by ten central office staff members (Executive Director, Deputy Director, Election Advisor, PR Manager, Project Officer, three Lawyers, Financial Manager, and Program Manager) and five regional coordinators.

The meetings covered the following topics:

• New electoral districts • Selection criteria of LTOs • Structure and themes of LTO trainings • Methodology of pre-election observation • LTO form and instructions

Follow up the meeting, based on the new electoral districts organization developed the new recruitment plan of LTOs, updated the methodology of observation, reporting and communication system for the pre-election monitoring.

In the beginning of May, ISFED started the preparatory process for LTO trainings. It was agreed to conduct two types of trainings - two day training for newly selected LTOs and one day training for LTOs who were recruited from the pool of experienced ISFED district coordinators. Central office staff members designed the LTO training module, prepared the instructions and monitoring forms. The LTO trainings were scheduled for the end of June.

ISFED also drafted the activity timeline for the whole Election cycle, including the pre- election, the Election Day and the post-election periods.

LTO trainings

On June 23-24, ISFED conducted two day trainings for the newly recruited 12 LTOs at the central office in Tbilisi. On June 28-29 the trainings for already experienced 56 LTOs (ISFED district coordinators) were being held in Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi Regions. Trainings covered the following topics: • Opening of Training • Meaning of upcoming Elections • Amendments in Election Code • Pre-Election Campaign - What We Observe? • Communication with the relevant stakeholders • Mechanisms of monitoring • Reporting/Communication System • Logistics/Financial Issues • Closing of Training

At the end of the trainings participants filled out the special evaluation forms and were provided with all necessary materials for implementing the pre-election monitoring. In the beginning of July LTOs started the monitoring of pre-election period in their respective districts. During the monitoring LTOs mainly were focused on the collecting the following information:

1. Activities of the Election Administration

2. Activities of political parties/candidates

- Public meetings; - Rallies; - Door-to-door/survey; - Other.

3. Promises of political parties/candidates

4. Misuse of Administrative resources

- Improper use of buildings; - Participation of unauthorized persons in the pre-election campaign/agitation; - Facts of staff reshuffling on the persons, holding the managing positions in the self-government body, police or prosecution; - Facts of preparing print materials through the financial means of the local self- government budget;

- New social welfare projects, allegedly having political motivation.

5. Intimidation

- Dismissal from work; - Threatening; - Intimidation from the law enforcement forces; - Political arrest; - Physical attack; - Intimidation on business; - Hindering carrying a campaign; - Other intimidation.

6. Vote Buying

- Delivery of money/gifts/services from a political party; - Delivery of money/gifts/services from a public servant; - Delivery of money/gifts/services via other person; - Illegal promise or agreement.

7. Interference in activities of political parties/candidates

8. Damaging materials of political parties/candidates

9. Other important information

According to ISFEDs’ reporting system LTOs were delivering all collected information in every week. The information received from LTOs was being revised by the Project Core Team (PCT) and entered into the special program software designed by ICT expert. Based on pre-election findings organization developed statements and reports which was spread among the wide public via uploading on the ISFEDs’ web-site, elections web- portal26 and other media means as TV, Radio and Press interviews.

Preparation for the Election Day

In the beginning of July ISFED project core team worked on the preparation for the observation mission of the Election Day. ISFED developed the STO methodology, forms and proper instructions, finalized a training manual for the STO trainings, as well as other training materials. Over 1000 STO manuals and appropriate number of other training materials were printed. Herewith, the instructions and forms for lawyers, mobile teams,

26 http://isfed.ge/; http://www.electionsportal.ge/ 11

DEC observers and post-election observers have been prepared. Stationery and supplies for trainings were purchased and distributed according to the regions. ISFED also printed the special uniforms (T-shirts) for all observers.

In August and September, rigorous preparation was underway for seamless functioning of the SMS Center and Incident Center. ISFED ICT expert worked on the refinement of the software for the Incident and SMS databases. The SMS reporting was repeatedly tested at the training sessions throughout Georgia.

ISFED ICT expert developed a nationally representative, random sample of 600 polling stations throughout Georgia. ISFED also identified potentially interesting and problematic polling stations for the deployment of around 200 additional static STOs. In August ISFED regional and district representatives started the recruitment process of STOs in their respective regions and districts. By the beginning of September ISFED recruited over 1000 short term observers (including reserve). In September all observers were accredited at the CEC.

Training of Trainers (ToT)

Within the preparatory activities, based on the finalized STO methodology, ISFED prepared a training module for the STO trainings and conducted a Training of Trainers (ToT) to prepare a poll of trainers for the training sessions across the country. The ToT was held at the ISFED Regional Office in Tbilisi on September 7, 2016 and attended by 19 participants.

The following topics were covered during the trainings:

• Opening of training; • Meaning of the Local Elections; • ISFED observation Mission; • Observer rights; • Amendments to the Election Code; • Election Administration; • Voter Lists; • Setting up of polling station; • Election Day procedures; • SMS simulation; • SMS communication/reporting system; • Incident system and form; • Appeals and complaints; • Observers’ timeline; • Finances and logistics; • Wrap up/Evaluation of the first training day.

The trainers were delivered all necessary materials to conduct trainings in their respective regions.

STO Trainings

ISFED recruited over 1000 short-term observers (including reserve) and conducted 50 STO trainings between September 10 and Septemeber 28, 2016. 15 training sessions were held in Tbilisi 1 region (Tbilisi city, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Kvemo Kartli); 12 training sessions took place in Kutaisi region (Imereti, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Racha- Lechkhumi-Kvemo Svaneti); 10 trainings were held in Batumi Region (Adjara, Guria and Poti city); 7 trainings – in Tbilisi 2 region (Shida Kartli; Samtskhe-Javakheti); and 5 - in Kakheti. The trainings were held simultaneously at up to 10 locations across the country.

After the trainings ISFED conducted post-tests and later verbal tests for all trained observers.

Trainings for Mobile teams, DEC observers, Post-election observers

Throughout the reporting month ISFED finalized the monitoring methodology, forms and instructions for the mobile teams and District Election Commission (DEC) observers, as well as, the post-election period observers. ISFED project core Group designed the training modules and prepared training materials separately for mobile teams, DEC observers and post-election observers. It was agreed, that the mobile teams would be staffed by the district coordinators and their drivers, and also, the ISFED DCs would be the post-election period observers. Organization delivered tablets to the mobile teams for capturing the evidences and uploading the information immediately to the special link.

Four training sessions were conducted in parallel for the observers from all 73 districts of Georgia and five Regional Coordinators. The training schedule was following:

Date Location Regions September 28 Tbilisi Shida Kartli, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Kakheti September 28 Kutaisi Imereti, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Racha-Lechkhtumi September 29 Tbilisi Tbilisi, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Kvemo Kartli Septmeber 29 Batumi Adjara, Guria, Poti

The Dec observers had trainings from 10:00 am to 15:00 pm and the agenda of training were the following:

- Opening of training; - Observation mission; - Election Administration; - Observers’ rights; - E-day procedures; - Complaints/Appeals; - Communication/reporting system;

- Instructions of feeling out the forms; - Closing of Training.

For Mobile teams/Post Election observers who were the district coordinators of ISFED, the short training where conducted at the same day from 15:00 pm to 18:00pm. The topics of training covered:

- Instructions/forms; - Reporting/Communication system; - Important notes.

Lawyers Training

ISFED Lawyers conducted two rounds of trainings for the incident center lawyers. In total 15 lawyers have been recruited and trained.

First training was held on September 29th. The agenda of the training was as follows:

• Observation mission; • Observers’ rights; • Voters’ list; • E-day procedures (theoretical and practical exercises); • E-day violations/incidents; • Complaints (theoretical and practical exercises).

The second round of trainings was held several days previously to the Election Day and was focused on introduction of incident database to the lawyers. At the end of training the simulation of incident center have been conducted according to the different scenarios developed in advance.

Monitoring of the pre-election period

Monitoring Mission and Methodology

The Presidential Decree of June 3 was published on June 8, 201627, setting October 6, 2016 as the date for the parliamentary elections. As a result, the official pre-election period began on June 8, 2016 and lasted four months.

ISFED started monitoring the pre-election period of the parliamentary elections on July 1, 2016; however, pre-election reports of ISFED also covered developments and incidents that occurred prior to the launch of the monitoring and may have affected the electoral environment. ISFED carried out the pre-election monitoring in all election

27 The Presidential Decree is available at: http://cesko.ge/res/old/other/33/33940.pdf 14

districts of Georgia through 68 LTOs. ISFED monitored the second round of the elections through 38 LTOs deployed in all election districts where the runoffs took place.

ISFED LTOs were guided by international standards for monitoring organizations28, implying comprehensive, objective and transparent monitoring of elections. Pre-election monitoring of ISFED was focused on the following areas:

• Monitoring public meetings and political activities of political parties/electoral subjects as well as promises that they make to voters;

• Monitoring of election administration, which mostly entails monitoring composition of election administration and its activities;

• Detecting and acting on political intimidation/harassment, obstruction of political activities and alleged vote-buying;

• Detecting and studying any misuse of public resources.

During the monitoring ISFED relied on public information requested from administrative agencies, as well as reports received from electoral subjects, media outlets, NGOs and individual citizens. Each fact obtained by ISFED was verified with eyewitnesses and parties of the incident. While conducting the monitoring, ISFED also reported the incidents to the Inter-Agency Commission for Free and Fair Elections to ensure that actions in response to these incidents were taken in a timely manner.

Key Findings

During the pre-election period political parties and candidates were able to conduct their campaigns in a competitive environment. Electoral subjects enjoyed equal access to media and freedom to deliver their pre-electoral messages to voters. However, ISFED identified a number of violations during the pre-election period, including alleged political intimidation/harassment; campaigning by unauthorized persons; damaging of agitation materials, interference with election campaigning; and vote buying incidents. However, these violations were not large-scale or massive irregularities that would have raised serious suspicions about compliance of the elections with democratic standards.

During the pre-election period ISFED identified the following violations:

• 28 cases of misuse of administrative resources - in most of these cases, resources were used in favor of the ruling party.

28 In the process of monitoring ISFED follows Declaration of Global Principles for Nonpartisan Election Observation and Monitoring by Citizen Organizations, available at http://www.gndem.org/declaration-of-global-principles; while in evaluation it is guided by and shares the spirit of OSCE Copenhagen Document 15

• 12 cases of vote-buying - despite a number of prohibitions provided by the election legislation, political parties, candidates and their representatives were using different methods to entice voters with money and gifts. ISFED filed three applications with the SAO and one complaint with court demanding a probe into the vote buying incidents and further actions.

• 36 cases of Harassment/Intimidation on Alleged Political Grounds - some of which contained signs of a crime. Instances of harassment and intimidation against party activists began two months ahead of the elections and became more and more frequent as the polling day drew close.

• 19 cases of Interference with Campaigning - out of 19 eleven cases were against the United National Movement (UNM), 3 against - independent majoritarian candidates and two against the Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia; remaining incidents aimed to disrupt the campaigns of the Alliance of Patriots, the Free Democrats and Paata Burchuladze-State for the People (one incident against each party).

• 7 cases of dismissals from work on alleged political grounds29 - all seven cases were found in local self-government bodies. The individuals concerned alleged that they had been sacked due to their political affiliation and beliefs. Some were restored to work, while others filed in court and their cases are pending.

• 24 cases of participation of unauthorized individuals in the pre-election campaigning - ISFED filed 7 complaints with the election administration seeking adequate measures in response to these violations. The monitoring found that representatives of religious organizations, participated in campaigning in favor of electoral subjects, so did charity organizations, civil servants – during working hours, members of the election administration (district and precinct level commissions) and citizens of foreign countries.

The pre-election process was marked by violent incidents in the final days before the elections, including the explosion of the car of opposition MP Givi Targamadze, assault with a firearm on an opposition majoritarian candidate, and physical assault on activists of the ruling party. The pre-election campaigning was negatively affected by release of illegally recorded videos allegedly depicting personal lives of politicians. These videos also contained threats against politically active individuals and demands that they abandon politics; otherwise, details of their personal lives would be disclosed. Such attempts to blackmail individuals active in political and public areas had the apparent aim of discrediting the political spectrum.

During the active phase of the election campaign, audio recordings of a conversation that allegedly took place between Mikheil Saakashvili, former president of Georgia, and some

29 SEE ISFED’s pre-election monitoring reports, available at: http://www.isfed.ge/main/1072/geo/ 16

United National Movement (UNM) members was leaked on the Internet. The recordings suggested that these individuals were debating a revolutionary scenario for the electoral processes. Leaking of the recording was preceded by statements made by representatives of the ruling political party, alleging that the UNM was planning to cause a destabilization and unrest for the elections. The investigation after the leaks was not effective as investigative authorities have not yet established authenticity of the recordings or examined the fact of illegal wiretapping.

Cases of political harassment and intimidation of party activists began to appear 2 months before the Election Day and became more frequent as the elections drew near. Representatives of opposition parties reported verbal harassment, threats to revoke social assistance and other forms of intimidation to ISFED observers. Although no massive acts of violence occurred, as the elections drew near, alarming instances of physical confrontation between political opponents and activists were detected. Response of relevant authorities to alleged acts of harassment against candidates was ineffective and inefficient. In a number of instances, investigation was launched and the inter-agency commission studied the facts in question but these measures remain pending even after the elections. Acts of harassment and intimidation in between the first and second rounds of the elections were especially noticeable in election districts where opposition candidates had garnered more votes or where there was a close race in the first round.

Misuse of administrative resources was one of the factors that hindered the pre-election campaign. It was mostly local self-governments that used administrative resources in various forms in favor of the ruling party. A few days before applicable legal restrictions came into effect, many municipalities made changes in their budgets to introduce new social and infrastructural projects to be launched and implemented during the election period. 30

Vote buying was also evident during the pre-election period. To offset the effects of the ruling party’s use of administrative resources, some opposition parties were trying to entice voters by promising different types of material and non-material resources through their representatives or candidates. The State Audit Office (SAO) mostly responded to reported violations in a timely manner; however, SAO’s mandate to study alleged facts of vote buying is limited, while whenever it referred a case to a court the latter failed to provide an adequate legal evaluation.

An important trend was the use of hate speech by electoral subjects and their representatives; for some electoral subjects hate speech became their niche. Davit Tarkhan-Mouravi, Irma Inashvili – Alliance of Patriots of Georgia were infamous for their discriminatory statements. Dissemination of these statements was promoted by Obiektivi TV – a television company affiliated with the party.

Law enforcement was adequately mobilized at nearly all large-scale meetings organized by parties and safety measures were followed. However, acts of interference with campaigning were still detected. In most of such cases, campaign events were attended

30 See: http://www.electionsportal.ge/geo/map?map=14&category=3.0&dist=0&majolqi=0 17

by activists of other parties that held opposing views or by local self-government employees, who attempted to interfere with campaigning which often led to confrontations.

Over the last few years there have been fewer cases of dismissals of civil servants due to their political affiliation and dismissal from work is no longer used as a punitive measure against civil servants that hold opposing political views. However, several facts of dismissal for political reasons were still reported in the pre-election period.

During the pre-election period ISFED monitored public meetings held by political parties/electoral subjects and recorded their pre-election promises. ISFED LTOs attended a total of 1280 public meetings31 held by political parties and electoral subjects in different territorial units of Georgia for campaigning. Majoritarian candidates nominated by initiative groups also held campaign meetings. During the pre-election period ahead of the first round of the elections, from July 1 through September 30, 2016, LTOs monitored 1248 meetings. From October 13 to October 29, in majoritarian districts where the runoffs were held coordinators attended 32 meetings.

During their meetings with voters, electoral subjects made promises in virtually all areas. Below we summarize campaign promises made by parties that gained parliamentary seats and by main electoral subjects that participated in the elections. A detailed list of promises is available in ISFED’s interim reports.32

Monitoring of the Election Day - October 8, 2016

Observation Mission and Monitoring Methodology

The monitoring mission of ISFED for the October 8, 2016 parliamentary elections consisted of nearly 1000 accredited and trained observers, distributed among precinct, district and central electoral commissions. ISFED conducted the Election Day monitoring using the Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) methodology.33 ISFED deployed 600 STOs to randomly selected electoral precincts throughout Georgia, 195 STOs to potentially problematic precincts and to precincts particularly worthwhile for observation34, 10 STOs were assigned to polling stations adapted to the needs of persons with disabilities in

31 ISFED records meetings that were personally attended by its observers. 32 See ISFED’s pre-election monitoring reports at: http://www.isfed.ge/main/1072/geo/ 33 Use of the PVT methodology allowed ISFED to collect qualitative and quantitative information from randomly selected precincts and analyze the information received; evaluate the Election Day process as a whole opening of precincts, voting, closing of precincts, vote counting and tabulation; receive information based on facts that would serve as grounds for acting on issues of concern to improve the process; detect flaws/violations during opening of precincts, polling and vote counting; generalize information received from select precincts; verify official election outcomes.

34 Here we mean electoral precincts that proved to be problematic in terms of irregularities or conflict situations on the basis of the three most recent elections (the parliamentary elections of 2012, the presidential elections of 2013 and the local self-government elections of 2014), as well as electoral precincts where competition between parties and/or candidates in the 2012 parliamentary elections and in the 2014 local self-governmental elections was a close call. 18

Tbilisi. In addition to the STOs, the Election Day monitoring mission also included 70 mobile teams, 73 DEC observers, 15 lawyers and 15 operators.

In the final days before the election, ISFED trained 15 data entry operators and conducted final briefings for the short-term observers in the regions.

On October 3rd ISFED held the Election Day simulation to test the network connections as well as the quality and completeness of all reports submitted by observers by text messaging service. The simulation was successful as 98% of observers were able to submit their complete reports.

On the Election Day ISFED operated the SMS center and the incidents center in its office. Reports received from observers in the form of text messages were compiled in a special database and verified as needed by operators. Verified information was then processed and analyzed by a team of experts.

All violations detected at the election precincts or districts on the Election Day were reported to the incidents center divided by regions and manned by 15 lawyers. After consulting with lawyers observers took corresponding further actions for each individual violation detected. Lawyers entered in the database reports after they were verified and processed. The database included not only the information about violations reported but also complaints filed with election districts and precincts.

Three NGOs35 jointly operated elections portal (www.electionsportal.ge) on the Election Day, mapping violations reported by individual citizens and NFOs during the polling process.

After all reports received from the incidents center and the SMS center were processed, ISFED released a total of 5 statements36 about the polling process, trends identified, violations detected and polling results. The statements were published on the official website of ISFED, released in social media and announced at press-conferences.

ISFED held the following 5 press-conferences to release its findings about the conduct of the elections:

1. On 08.10.16 at 11:00 – opening/setting up of polling stations; 2. On 08.10.16 at 15:00 – process of polling and turnout as of 12:00; 3. On 08.10.16 at 19:00 - process of polling and turnout as of 17:00; 4. On 08.10.16 at 22:30 - process of polling/closing of polling stations; 5. On 09.10.16 at 10:00 – counting of votes/results.

35 ISFED, GYLA, TI - Georgia 36http://www.isfed.ge/main/1152/eng/;http://www.isfed.ge/main/1153/eng/;http://www.isfed.ge/main/1157/ eng/; http://www.isfed.ge/main/1158/eng/; http://www.isfed.ge/main/1159/eng/ 19

Key Findings

Based on findings of ISFED monitoring it is safe to conclude that in absolute majority of electoral precincts the October 8, 2016 parliamentary elections were conducted in abidance by legal regulations. ISFED finds that opening of polling station and the polling process proceeded in a calm and orderly manner. The process of counting of votes proved to be a challenge as important violations and incidents were detected at a number of polling stations, including acts of violence, which later served as the basis for invalidating results at several polling stations.

In the first round of the parliamentary elections ISFED observers did not report any violations during opening and setting up of polling stations. Isolated cases of inadequate handling of electoral documentation and restriction of observer rights, campaigning at the polling station and presence of unauthorized individuals at the polling station were found. Similar to the process of opening of polling stations, the process of voting proceeded without any major violations and incidents. Instances of inadequate handling of electoral documentation were found at a number of polling stations, in addition to isolated instances of violation of ballot secrecy, inking procedures, voting without proper identification documents, ballot papers without necessary signatures or seals, restriction of observer rights, campaigning and presence of unauthorized individuals at the polling station. Observers detected tension outside several polling stations but it did not have a material impact on the polling process, except in the case of one polling station. ISFED observation detected most important violations and irregularities in counting. Most violations identified at polling stations were related to improper handling of summary protocols. Acts of violence were found in a number of polling stations. We must also note that important violations identified in the counting process questioned validity of results from several polling stations.

Although ISFED observers found violations of electoral procedures in a number of polling stations, including important irregularities, overall these violations did not have a large-scale impact. Isolated incidents could not have had any material effect on expression of free will of voters and therefore, on final results of the proportional elections.

Although ISFED observers found violations of electoral procedures in a number of polling stations, including important irregularities, overall these violations did not have a large-scale impact. Isolated incidents could not have had any substantial effect on expression of free will of voters and therefore, on final results of the proportional elections.

Rerun Elections - October 22, 2016

ISFED monitored the rerun elections on October 22, 2016, in both DECs and all four electoral precincts of Zugdidi and Marneuli. ISFED issued one report on the findings of rerun elections37.

On October 19, 2016, under the decision of the CEC, rerun elections for the October 8, 2016 elections were scheduled for October 22. The rerun elections took place in four electoral precincts of two election districts. Majoritarian parliamentary elections were held in majoritarian precinct №36.22.48 of majoritarian election district №36 (Marneuli), while in electoral precincts №66.67.38, №66.67.79 and №66.67.108 of majoritarian election district №66 (Zugdidi) voters cast their ballots to elect majoritarian MP as well as municipal Gamgebeli (rerun of the October 8, 2016 municipal by-elections). Ballots from these electoral precincts were invalidated by the CEC due to significant incidents that occurred. As a result, rerun elections were scheduled.

ISFED observers reported that the polling process took place in a peaceful environment in all polling stations and no significant violations occurred.

Certain irregularities were observed in the electoral precinct #48 of Marneuli majoritarian election district #36, which opened late. Notably, due to the lack of space at the polling station and a high level of interest of political party representatives, media and observers, as well as a high voter turnout, certain problems were observed in the process of regulation of the flow of voters; the mobile ballot box list was drafted in an incomplete manner but the violation was corrected after it was pointed out. Political party leaders and supporters were present outside polling stations both in Marneuli and Zugdidi but it did not lead to any incidents.

Election Runoffs – October 30, 2016

Observation Mission and Monitoring Methodology

ISFED monitored the runoffs on October 30, 2016 in 50 election districts of Georgia.38 ISFED monitoring mission for the runoffs consisted of over 600 short-term observers, 42

37 http://www.isfed.ge/main/1162/eng/ 38 Mtatsminda, Vake, Saburtalo, Krtsanisi, Isani, Samgori, Chughureti, Didube, Nadzaladevi, Gldani, Sagarejo, Gurjaani, Lagodekhi, Kvareli, Telavi, Akhmeta, Mtskheta, Rustavi, Marneuli, Gardabani, Kaspi, Gori, Khashuri, Akhaltsikhe, Adigeni, Kutaisi (three majoritarian districts), Kharagauli, Baghdati, Zestaponi, Chiatura, Lanchkhuti, 21

mobile teams and observers assigned to each DECs. Similar to the first round of the parliamentary elections, ISFED relied on PVT for monitoring the runoffs. ISFED assigned 452 short-term observers to randomly selected electoral precincts. In addition, ISFED observers were present in all electoral precincts of the following election districts: Marneuli no.36, Akhaltsikhe no.44, Kutaisi no.49 and Zugdidi no.66. For the runoffs ISFED set up incidents’ and SMS centers in its central office with 10 operators and 11 lawyers.

Similar to the first round of the elections, ISFED relied on PVT methodology for monitoring of the runoffs. Central office of ISFED operated SMS and incidents’ centers. ISFED issued five statements39 and held five press-conferences to release its findings about the conduct of the elections:

1. On 30.10.16, at 11:00 – opening/setting up of polling stations; 2. On 30.10.16, at 15:00 – process of polling and turnout as of 12:00; 3. On 30.10.16, at 19:00 - process of polling and turnout as of 17:00; 4. On 30.10.16, at 22:30 - process of polling/closing of polling stations; 5. On 30.10.16, at 10:00 – counting of votes/results.

Key Findings

Based on the analysis of PVT results, it is safe to conclude that opening of polling stations and the polling process during the runoffs mostly proceeded in a peaceful and orderly environment throughout the country.

Based on reports of ISFED observers, process of opening and setting up of polling stations was free from any substantial violations. Several instances of improper handling of documentation, restriction of observer rights and violation of the procedure of casting of lots were found. In individual cases ISFED observers detected the following irregularities: violation of ballot secrecy and violation of inking procedures. In this regard, Marneuli Majoritarian Election district proved to be most problematic.

ISFED monitoring revealed important types of violations during the process of counting of votes in several polling stations, including: number of ballots did not match the number of voter signatures; in individual cases summary protocols were not filled out appropriately or information in summary protocols was altered; major violation of ballot secrecy occurred in one polling station.

Because the above violations were isolated incidents and none of them had a large-scale effect ISFED believes that they did not appear to influence final election results.

Ozurgeti, Chokhatauri, Poti, Senaki, Abasha, Khobi, Zugdidi, Tsalenjikha, Chkhorotsku, Batumi (three majoritarian districts), Kobuleti, Khelvachauri, Keda.

39http://www.isfed.ge/main/1170/eng/;http://www.isfed.ge/main/1171/eng/;http://www.isfed.ge/main/1172/ eng/; http://www.isfed.ge/main/1173/eng/; http://www.isfed.ge/main/1174/eng/ 22

Complaints filed on and following the Election Day

Based on the strategy designed by ISFED, upon detection of a violation observer pointed it out first and requested that commission members take adequate further actions. If the PEC corrected the violation, observer recorded a warning in the logbook. If the PEC failed to take adequate further actions in response to the violation concerned, observer filed a complaint.

Complaints and any other types of actions taken in response to violations had the following important objectives: 1. record a violation and ensure that it is corrected in a timely manner; 2. identify incompetent members of electoral commissions, in order to replace them by qualified individuals in the future and to ensure that training for PEC members covers all issues that proved to be most problematic; 3. develop recommendations for improving the legal framework.

First round of the elections: violations and complaints on and following the Election Day

During the October 8, 2016 parliamentary elections, ISFED detected a total of 53440 violations on and following the polling day. In connection to 55 violations ISFED recorded a warning in the polling day logbook, meaning that poll workers took adequate further actions and there was no need to file a complaint, which deserves recognition. In connection to 109 violations, ISFED filed 102 complaints with PEC, and in connection to 462 violations, ISFED filed 244 complaints with DECs. Two complaints were filed in Batumi City Court and one in Kutaisi Appellate Court.

Runoffs: Violations and Complaints on and following the Election Day

On and following the Election Day of the runoffs, ISFED observers took legal actions in response to 105 violations. Out of these violations, warnings were recorded in the logbook in connection to 14.

In connection to 91 violations, ISFED filed 42 complaints with PECs and 74 complaints with DECs. One complaint was filed in court.

Evaluation workshop on `lessons learnt`

On December 27-28, 2016 ISFED organized the evaluation workshop on `lessons learnt` in Borjomi at hotel `Rixos`. The workshop was attended by ISFED central office fourteen staff members and five regional coordinators.

The agenda of the workshop covered the following topics:

40 Number of complaints does not match the number of violations because some complaints were filed over more than one violations. 23

Day 1

10:00 – 10:20 Introduction 10:20 – 10:50 Evaluation of the Pre-election Period 10:50 – 11:20 Evaluation of the Election Day 11:20 – 11:50 Evaluation of the post-election period 11:50 – 12:10 Coffee Break 12:10 – 13:00 Evaluation of logistical and financial issues on Elections 13:00 – 14:00 Presentation of election evaluation results by District Coordinators 14:00 – 15:00 Lunch 15:00 – 16:00 Existing problems and risks 16:00 – 17:00 Overview of 2013-2016 Strategic plan- part 1 17:00 – 17:20 Coffee Break 17:00 – 18:00 Overview of 2013-2016 Strategic plan- part 2

Day 2

10:00 – 11:30 SWOT analysis 11:30 – 11:50 Coffee Break 11:50 – 13:00 Presentation of organization’s evaluation results by DCs 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch 14:00 – 15:00 Brainstorming – where we are and where we want to be? 15:00 – 15:30 New Structure, developments and projects 15:30 – 16:00 International missions 16:00 – 16:20 Coffee Break 16:20 – 17:00 Other

Presentation of the final election report

In February-March ISFED worked on preparatory activities for the presentation of its final election report on monitoring of 2016 Parliamentary elections. ISFED developed the presentation on main findings of elections and printed final reports.

On March 10th ISFED presented the final election report. The presentation was held in hotel Holiday inn. The donors, embassies, domestic and international organizations, political parties and media attended the presentation. The Executive Director, Project Coordinator and Lawyer presented the main findings and results of the monitoring41.

41 http://www.isfed.ge/main/1202/eng/. 24

IV. RESULTS

- The project work plan and PMP are updated; - New project staff is selected and recruited; - The new electoral boarders are searched and studied; - Pre-election monitoring methodology is developed; - LTO training module is designed; - LTO forms and instructions are prepared; - Election Activity timeline is drafted; - Co-funding for the pre-election monitoring is approved. - 68 LTOs are recruited and trained for the monitoring of pre-election period; - The pre-election monitoring is conducted; - Three reports are issued on pre-election monitoring findings; - Public is informed about pre-election findings through distributing of statements and reports via presentations, TV channels, social media; - Recommendations on pre-election findings are developed and submitted to the relevant stockholders; - Over 1000 short-term observers are recruited and trained; - 73 DEC observers are recruited and trained; - 70 Mobile teams are recruited and trained; - 15 lawyers are recruited and trained; - Election materials are printed and distributed; - Observation mission is accredited and prepared for the Election Day monitoring. - The pre-election monitoring of the Parliamentary Elections 2016 is conducted; - Five reports are issued on the pre-election monitoring findings; - Public is informed about the pre-election findings through distributing of statements and reports via presentations, TV channels, social media, elections web-portal, isfed’s web-site; - Recommendations on pre-election findings are developed and submitted to the relevant stockholders; - Over 1000 observers are deployed to monitor the Election Day of Parliamentary Elections on October 8, 2016;

- Five statements are issued and distributed on the Election Day findings of the first tour through organizing the press-conferences, TV interviews, social media, isfed’s web-site, elections web-portal; - Out of 244 complaints submitted by ISFED 91 complaints are granted and 42 are granted in part; - Over 700 observers are deployed to monitor the Election Day for the runoff elections; - Five statements are issued and distributed on the Election Day findings of run offs through the press-conferences, TV interviews, social media, isfed’s web-site, elections web-portal; - Out of 74 complaints submitted by ISFED 29 complaints are granted and 15 are granted in part; - The Evaluation Workshop on the `lessons learnt` is conducted and the outcome from the workshop will be used for the improvement and development of future activities for the upcoming 2017 local elections;

V. MONITORING and EVALUATION

Monitoring and evaluation of the project activities will be conducted through: - Following and permanently revising the log frame and detailed activity plan; - Revising of weekly and monthly reports; - Verifying the received information in electronic databases (LTO reports; STO reports); - Organizing of weekly staff meetings; - Organizing the coordination meetings with district coordinators; - Attending and monitoring the trainings/meetings in all regions by regional coordinators and project core team members; - Developing the recommendations and feedbacks on improvements for the project staff members; - Updating the questionnaires and instructions based on findings and needs during the implementation of the project activities; - Conduct the evaluation workshop after the Parliamentary Elections, 2016.