Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Georgian Central Election Commission and its Training Center, and together with the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) delivered cascade trainings for the district election commissioners on Electoral dispute resolution - common court practice and effective legal remedies, standards of reasoned decisions.

The main objective of the trainings was to support improving the performance of the Georgian election commissioners in resolving of electoral complains. This is very important in view of the upcoming 26 October 2024 Parliamentary Elections.

At the trainings, up to 75 district electoral commissioners from all over Georgia explored practical tools how to ensure access of electoral stakeholders to effective legal remedies. International standards and good practices of the Council of Europe member States, changes to the domestic legal framework and voting procedures were among the main topics of the working sessions. Emphasis was made upon structure and standards of reasoned decisions, which place a crucial role in ensuring transparency and integrity of electoral processes.

Upon completion of the training election commissioners are further empowered including through the provision of the necessary tools to resolve electoral complaints on merits and avoid dismissal of cases on formal grounds - a longstanding recommendation of the Council of Europe’s monitoring bodies.

The trainings were organised within the framework of the Council of Europe Project “Supporting Transparency, Inclusiveness and Integrity of Electoral Practice and Process in Georgia”.