On 14-15 June, at the online training, election officials from the Election Administration of Georgia, including members and the staff of the Central Election Commission of Georgia, have exchanged views on international standards and good practices of the Council of Europe member states on a broad range of issues surrounding hate speech and incitement of hatred during electoral processes.

As recent electoral cycles in Georgia revealed, democratisation and electoral processes have proven vulnerable to hate speech and its negative impact on electoral environment and confidence of citizens in elections. The online training was a part of the implementation of a study course on ‘Countering Hate Speech in Electoral Processes’, developed in cooperation with the election administration.

The study course, among others, covers applicable international standards and instruments for combating hate speech and incitement of hatred during electoral processes, strategies for election management bodies to prevent and respond to instances of hateful speech effectively and to think of a coordinated and cross-sectoral approach, hate speech and disinformation, hate speech and sexism.

The study course will be integrated and implemented in all educational programs of the Election Administration of Georgia targeting a broad scale of electoral stakeholders.

The training was organised within the framework of the Council of Europe Project ‘Supporting Transparency, Inclusiveness and Integrity of Electoral Practice and Process in Georgia’.