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2004 Presidential Election: The OSCE final report found that " State administrative resources were at times used in support of Mr. Saakashvili," while "other candidates did not benefit similarly. " Observers recommended the government and election commissions "must ensure that administrative resources are not abused and guarantee equal conditions for all election contestants."
2006 Presidential Elections -- Your Observations:
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2004 Presidential Elections: Fresh out of the Rose Revolution, Mikheil Saakashvili dominated broadcast media, with reports usually positive. Rustavi-2 emerged as "the prime channel of . . . institutional communication"; Imedi TV was deemed as offering "the most balanced coverage." Despite a similar focus on Saakashvili, newspapers 24 Saati, Rezonansi, Sakartvelos Respublika, Akhali Taoba provided "a generally larger spectrum of political views" and coverage more critical of the government. Saakashvili's campaign spots also dominated TV advertising, particularly on Rustavi-2, according to the report.
2008 Presidential Elections -- Your Observations:
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2004 Presidential Elections: Despite efforts made to rectify mistakes that marred the 2003 parliamentary vote, the final report notes that "lists must be considered incomplete" and not entirely accurate. Election day registration proceeded orderly, but a lack of guidelines about how to reconcile protocols with same-day registered voters "complicated the count and tabulation process." The report recommends publishing district and precinct voter lists online "to enhance transparency and confidence." The final tally of voters stood at 2,231,986.
2008 Presidential Elections -- Your Observations:
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2004 Presidential Elections: A need for more thorough training of election officials was observers' general conclusion. Ballot secrecy was another concern, as was the occasional lack of a clear dividing line between local governments,the Saakashvili campaign and the election commissions. Observers called for support for domestic observers and for greater representation of opposition parties on election commissions.
2008 Presidential Elections -- Your Observations:
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2004 Presidential Elections: In a change from the past, domestic observers were not harassed, though were "less active in scrutinizing the election" itself than with such tasks as election training. By comparison with the 2003 parliamentary elections, the OSCE noted an overall "decrease" in observer activity.
2008 Presidential Elections -- Your Observations:
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2004 Presidential Elections: While the count procedure at most polling stations was deemed "excellent" or "good," nearly a third of protocols were incorrectly calculated, with changes to precinct protocols often being made at district election commissions, the report found. A third also had "unauthorized persons" attending the vote count, and, in a fifth of the cases, interferring with the count. Over half of the protocols published on the CEC site had mathmatical mistakes; half of that number had to be returned for corrections. Consequently, final protocols were not published until nearly two weeks after the vote, although some polling stations had already posted final results.
2008 Presidential Elections -- Your Observations:
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