Georgian Parliamentary Elections 2020:

In the shadow of the war over Nagorno-Karabakh, the Georgian parliamentary elections will take place on October 31.  A few weeks before the elections, it appears to be one of the least contested votes in recent Georgian history. It takes place within the framework of an amendment to the electoral law that allows smaller parties to enter parliament and makes a coalition government likely. But beneath the surface of the election campaign, which has been decelerated by the pandemic, there is also a debate about the future of democracy in Georgia. A number of indicators show regress in the implementation of reforms and democratization. The absence of the rule of law, the influence of security structures and the growing importance of informal structures are endangering Georgia's success in democracy. Against this background, we would like to discuss the following questions:

What does this election say about the current state of democracy in GEO? How important are the use of administrative resources and the instrumentalization of state institutions for the democratic development of GEO? What does the election result mean for foreign policy, especially relations with the EU? How can the foreign policy of the ruling Georgian Dream party be evaluated, especially with regard to Russia?

With:

• Elene Nizharadze, Executive Director International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy ISFED, Tbilisi
• Prof. Kornely Kakachia, Director Georgian Institute of Politics GIP, Tbilisi
• Prof. Giorgi Maisuradze, Philosopher, Ilia State University, Tbilisi
• Visual commentary: Anna Dziapshipa Visual artist and filmmaker SAKDOK

Moderation: Dr. Stefan Meister, Head of Office South Caucasus, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Tbilisi

Please mind the CET, we start at 14:00PM - that is 17:00PM in Tbilisi time zone. 

The event will be held in English with simultaneous translation into German. We kindly ask for registration.

Contact:
Katja Giebel 
E giebel@boell.de

Note: 

The technical requirements for participating in the event are a computer, tablet or smartphone with a speaker, and depending on the event (with audience participation) optionally a camera or headset required. Online events will be held using the Zoom software, which will provide a link for participating. The access link will be provided a day prior and 2 hrs prior to the event. The event will be recorded.

On first using Zoom, this access link will initiate the download of the client software ("Zoom-launcher.exe"). This software must be executed or installed (recommended) on your computer. For using the different translation channels, the download of the app/the program is obligatory, also please make sure to have the newest ZOOM update. "Join via browser" does not offer translations. 

Please join the event a few minutes before its start time.

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