Despite the fact that at the end of last year, Georgia became a candidate country for EU membership, Brussels completely froze the process of further negotiations with official Tbilisi. The reason is the unprecedented anti-democratic and anti-Western steps of the current government of Georgia, even for Georgian policy. Due to the dangerous game played by the "Georgian Dream" with foreign policy, the country found itself in a completely chaotic state with an uncertain future. Such a circumstance made expectations for the upcoming elections on October 26, both inside and outside the country, even more intense. The message is common: Georgia must succeed in passing the test of democracy, which means, first of all, reflecting the will of the Georgian people in the election results. Of course, one of the key roles in this process is assigned to observation missions, a large part of which is already in Georgia and studying the pre-election process. One of the largest international organizations, whose long-term observers are already working across the country, is the International Republican Institute (IRI). How does the organization, whose representation has been helping the country in various directions on the ground for many years, evaluate the current Georgian political dynamics, and what is its message less than a month before the elections? We spoke to the president of IRI, Daniel Twining: 

- First of all, thank you for agreeing to the interview and for the opportunity to hear your opinions regarding Georgian political dynamics. Let's start the conversation with the upcoming elections—how do you assess the pre-election process and the current political atmosphere in Georgia?

- Well, there's a lot to say about the current situation in terms of what we can control, which is our evaluation of the process. IRI has 21 long-term observers on the ground currently. They've been there for some time now, they're covering 73 municipalities in Georgia. What these long-term observers do is conduct interviews. They collect information on the pre-election state of play, looking at the broad electoral information environment around the election, and they're issuing regular reports on their observations. So, those are the long-term observers, and then we have a delegation of nearly 30 short-term observers who will be there for election week; of course, they'll deploy across the country to observe in all of the different parts of Georgia. So, this combined for us—I mean, it's not the world's biggest delegation—but this is about 50 observers for us at IRI. NDI and other groups, obviously, are running election observation missions that will include domestic observers, etc. Our interest is in a free and fair vote in Georgia, a competitive process, access to the polls, the ability of parties and candidates to compete freely, a level playing field, no abuse of state administrative resources, and the opportunity for everybody to participate in a democratic election. That's the objective.

- How actively are you personally involved in studying the pre-election environment, and how actively do you receive information from Georgia from your own observation mission?

- We're getting updates. I get a weekly kind of written update. I spent the weekend in Europe being briefed by my Georgia country director. So yes, we're getting regular updates. After the election, we'll produce a statement with all of our findings. So the pre-election findings will feed into our overall assessment because, obviously, it's a very dynamic situation, and the pre-election environment matters. And then, of course, how the vote happens, how the election itself goes, matters. But all of this is feeding into our assessment that we will release immediately after the elections.

- Europe is already actively talking about the negative aspects of the pre-election process in Georgia. PACE has already published a declaration saying that "alarming reports are coming from Georgia about how the ruling party is preparing to steal the upcoming parliamentary elections" and pointing to examples of intimidation, as well as attacks on opposition activists, etc. If you share similar concerns? And considering these challenges, what are your expectations?

- I think for sure there are concerns, just based on what government officials have said about things like banning opposition parties, right? This doesn't happen in a democracy. This shouldn't happen in a country where 90% of the population wants to join Europe, according to IRI polling. Obviously, we expect a competitive process and a level playing field. We've been concerned about reports, including reports like the one that you mentioned, and the agenda of the government needs to be to have a clean, fair, and credible election. It's up to the people who rule the country, but obviously, there's no place for violence in any democratic system. There is no place for government officials or candidates of any party to say things that are unconstitutional and undemocratic, and the Georgian people are watching, and Europe is watching, and America certainly is watching. The United States has leveled some targeted sanctions at a set of officials out of concern for the subversion of democracy. So, there's a lot at stake, and I hope the ruling party is confident enough to allow for a free and fair election, which, by the way, is not the gift of the government. It's the right of all citizens to have a free and fair election that is inclusive and respects the democratic process. 

- How do you view the current challenging partnership between Georgia and the US, and is there still a way for the Georgian government to change its course? 

- I first came to Georgia with Senator John McCain in the early 2000s when President Shevardnadze was in charge, and Georgia was very far from being a functioning, credible democracy. We witnessed the Rose Revolution and all the reforms that followed. I was living in Georgia during the first period of the rule of "Georgian Dream". I was living there when President Saakashvili stepped down peacefully and ceded power peacefully following a democratic election. And I've been visiting since. So, I've seen different phases of Georgia's democratic development. Georgia, for many years, was making such great democratic progress. We were encouraged by the transition of power that happened over 10 years ago. Now that’s what a democracy is—one party cannot stay in power and preside forever. There is an alternation of parties. There's a level playing field. There's real political pluralism and competition, and sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Right? Republicans and Democrats know that in Washington, and that's what we expect to see in any democracy, including in Georgia. So the thing about Georgia's democracy is that the quality of Georgia's democracy is tied very directly to the country's security. We know that Moscow has an agenda to help dismantle democracy in Georgia. We know the Georgian people very strongly support democratic institutions and a pro-Western orientation, and so the better and stronger a democratic outcome for Georgia, the safer the country is, and the better able it is to manage its security challenges. And, of course, the culture, its strategic and economic partnership with the West, writ large, including the United States and Europe. But these things are tied, and so I do think this election will be a decisive test for Georgian democracy. Does it continue to backslide, or does it get back on the track of reform and progress towards Europe?! 

- Considering the trends we've seen in Georgia lately, do you think the current government would be prepared to step down peacefully if it loses the elections, as its predecessor did? 

- Well, that's how democracy works. It's not a choice. If you lose an election, you cede power, right? Your supporters may not like it, but that's the only way you have a stable country. The alternatives are not good. The alternative is dictatorship. The alternative could be foreign intervention from a predatory neighbor. The alternative could be all sorts of undemocratic outcomes that are not good for either the government or the future of Georgia. So, yes, I think the world expects all Georgian leaders to play by the rules, and that's also what the Georgian people expect. 

- In this whole process, it is also particularly important that the Georgian people feel that they are not alone in the rather difficult path of the struggle for democracy and that they have appropriate support from the West as well. What is your message to the Georgian people today?

- We're coming to be independent election observers. So we have no partisan or other agenda. Our agenda is a strong and healthy democracy in Georgia, and whatever the Georgian people decide, the election outcome should recognize the will of the voters, right? That is the most fundamental aspect of democracy—that the government serves the citizens and is accountable to them, and the citizens choose the government. So all Georgians should participate. All Georgians should make sure that this is an election that reflects the popular will. That means participating. It also means there's a big role for citizen observers, right? It also means not accepting undemocratic outcomes. In fact, Georgia deserves to be on the path to a stronger and deeper democracy and the path to Europe. It's easy to say that no election is perfect, no democracy is perfect, but Georgia's progress and Georgia's future should be in the hands of its citizens, right? And they are the deciders, and that's why an election is such a powerful moment. We should never know the outcome in advance, just like in the United States, just like in so many countries that have voted this year. This is the year of elections—more people voting this year than in any year in human history—and there have been lots of surprises. Let's see what happens, and let's make sure that all the Georgian citizens have the chance to hold their leaders accountable, and that can mean voting for the current party in power or a different party in power. That's the right of every citizen in a democracy.

 Rusudan Shelia