The Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Georgian Central Election Commission, organised a conference “New approaches in covering electoral processes” that took place on 20 May 2023.
The overall objective of the conference was to facilitate dialogue and support the platform of effective communication between the Central Election Commission and the representatives of media outlets. At the conference, journalists, news reporters and political TV shows, heads, and managers of the editorial units – discussed challenges and solutions related to covering elections in digital times.
The Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Georgia, Stefan Sirbu, the Deputy Head of the Council of Europe’s Elections and Participatory Democracy Division, Franck Daeschler and the Chairperson of the Central Election Commission of Georgia, Giorgi Kalandarishvili delivered opening remarks, underlining the importance of continuous dialogue among election officials and media outlet representatives to ensure transparency and enhance public trust in electoral processes.
Representatives from leading media outlets, including the Georgian Public Broadcaster, Imedi TV, Rustavi 2, Mtavari Channel, TV Pirveli, Pormula TV, Interpressnews, Palitranews, Euronews, Radio Liberty, Tabula, and Georgian Times discussed challenges related to introducing digital solutions throughout Georgia in time for the 2024 parliamentary elections and its impact on integrity of elections, safety of journalists and respective international standards. The participants agreed on the importance of continuous dialogue between the election administration to secure conduct of democratic elections. Emphasis was placed upon the role of media in voter education related to an ambitious goal of political actors and the election administration to conduct elections with the use of electronic means countrywide.
The conference was organised within the framework of the Council of Europe Project “Supporting Transparency, Inclusiveness and Integrity of Electoral Practice and Process in Georgia”.
