Georgian NGOs demand amendments to electoral legislation

Several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Georgia are collecting signatures – within the campaign "It's about you! Change the unjust legislation!" – under the petition demanding to amend the national electoral legislation. They plan to submit the petition and draft amendments to the parliament on February 17.

The NGOs – authors of the petition and the draft – include the "Association of Young Lawyers", "Transparency International – Georgia", "International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy" and the coalition "For Freedom of Choice".

The collection of signatures in support of the petition was held during February 16 in the hotel "Tbilisi-Marriott" and on one of the websites. In total, the petition was signed by about 200 people.

The petition says that the amendments to the law "On Political Association of Citizens", and the Electoral and Criminal Codes, made in December 2011, had substantially worsened the electoral environment.

Besides, according to the authors, the adopted legislative amendments restrict the freedom of self-expression, civil activeness and political activities, inhibit the country's democratic progress and pose a danger to the civil society.