AMB. TBILIS! 2014 -05- 23 %#NDI nate Nt Final Report on Project Funded by the ‘Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency Dates of Project: November 1, 2009 ~ January 31,2014 GEORGIA: Building Public Confidence in the Electoral Process 1 Introduction |In 2009, public confidence in Georgia's electoral process was impacted by concems about the Pre-clection environment, election-day procedures, and vote tabulation during the 2008 Presidential and parliamentary elections, as well as in prior elections. Public opinion research Conducted by the National Democratic Institute (NDI or the Institute) in 2008 and 2009 Suggested that citizens were becoming disenchanted with the political process as a means for expressing their concems. A lack of electoral information and analysis, and in some eases inaccurate information and analysis, contributed to a tense post-election atmosphere in which opposition parties questioned the integrity of the election process and the government was unable to provide impartial evidence to the contrary. Institute entered into a 44-month agreement with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) to implement this program. The program was subsequently extended through December 2013 due to a shift in the timing of the 2013 presidential election, and then through January 31, 2014, in order to complete activities. ‘The program worked to achieve the following objectives: * Improve impartial electoral information and analysis; © Support increased accountability of election officials and political party election observers and officials; * Increase transparency and accountability of electoral administration; and © Improve the electoral participation of women for the 2010 local, 2012 parliamentary, and 2013 presidential elections. NDI supported a variety of electoral actors, including political parties, the media and civil Society organizations through the program and builds on activities undertaken by NDI under an carlier Sida-funded initiative in 2008. These activities included regular public opinion research,ell ee [~leiieT ama . wa} __she-creation-of Selection result database, and the development of the first-ever precinct-level Glectoral maps for Georgia. The database and the maps allowed the Institute to identify and isually represent trends in electoral results and the voters list, including possible iregularites, ‘This project was focused on transferring these tools to local partners and building the partners’ capacity 10 use them. The Institute also conducted public opinion research and helped partners tie polling and focus group results to identify and address voters’ expectations for electoral Teforms. NDI assisted political parties in developing the capacity of partisan election monitors, ‘and worked with political parties and civic groups to increase the accountability of slection officials. Finally, NDI also assisted parties to develop procedures and norms that will facilitate greater participation by women in the political process. During the program period, public confidence in the electoral process was at times impacted by political polarization and public concems about the pre-lection environment, election-day procedures, and vote tabulation. Despite these obstacles, however, Georgians reported improved vonfidence in electoral processes overall. In 2008, 44.5 percent of Georgians surveyed in an NDI Sida-funded poll stated that the 2008 parliamentary elections were run well, while in 2010, 53.1 percent of those surveyed indicated that they fet that eleetion was conducted very well In a November 2012 poll, 80 percent of respondents said that the parliamentary elections were run ‘well, while in a November 2013 poll, 89 percent of respondents indicated that the presidential election was either totally or somewhat well conducted. IL. Background ‘The 2003 Rose Revolution brought about a peaceful transition to a democratic government in the Republic of Georgia, ushering in a progressive, westemn-educated president, Mikheil Saakashvili, and his United National Movement (UNM) party. In the years immediately following the revolution, President Saakashvili received much acclaim for rapid reform, particularly in the economic sphere and in relations with the West. Credible public opinion Fesearch, however, showed that Georgians were growing displeased with the lack of transparency and accountability of the government and the dearth of consultations with citizens in the years since the revolution, ‘These frustrations were fucled by irregularities in the conduct of highly anticipated elections: Municipal contests in 2006 exacerbated political polarization. In each case, elections were marred by concerns regarding the electoral framework, the use of administrative resources, the Vote count, and voter complaint adjudication processes. While local and international election monitors regarded the elections as generally credible and open, they also expressed criticisms of various aspects of the process, including a lack of transparency in the publication of election results, an inaccurate voters’ list, hastily formed and trained election commissions, and an Clectoral system that provided the ruling party with nearly three-fourths of the seats in the ‘Tbilisi city council despite winning just slightly more than a majority of the vote. International monitors also noted with concem that women made up only 10 percent of majoritarian candidate lists and 18 percent of the party lists. Complaints lodged by party observers largely lacked evidence and were dismissed by the courts. The election exacerbated existing political tensions regarding the lack of govemment transparency and accountability, culminating in demonstrations throughout the country in 2007 and halting post-election reform efforts.Shorly afterwards, President Saakashvili called a snap presidential election to be held on January 5, 2008. This schedule left litle time to adequately update voters ists, prepare election monitors, and select and train election commissioners, particularly in light of new and snne complicated vote tabulation procedures. Oppositi i assistance by the Intemational Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), showed him winning 50.8 percent (with a margin of error of +/~ 2.2 percent). More than 1,000 electoral complaints were filed by party and nonpartisan observers to the courts and various electoral Cumout While the ruling United National Movement won almost 60 pereent of the party list ‘ote, the slectoral system provided the party with nearly 80 percent of parliamentary seats (119 Cut of 150). Subsequently, many of the opposition parties elected to parliament annulled their mandates in the new parliament in protest of the conduct and outcome of the elections, {The annulment of precinct results in the January presidential and May parliamentary polls, and the annulment of an entre electoral district in the November regional elections in Adjera, 1n April 2009, approximately 50,000 citizens attended opposition protest rallies calling for the resignation of President Saakashvili. The European Union's Special Envoy to the South Caucasus called on both the govermment and the opposition to resume talks on electoral and Constitutional reforms that could help to stabilize the political environment, An Electoral Code Working Group of government and opposition parties began talks on key issues of electoral reform such as composition of electoral committees, voter registration, and the voting system, With support from the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) and the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Georgia, NDI worked with the Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC) to conduct several rounds of nationwide surveys and focus groups before and after the May 2008 parliamentary polls and the Adjaran Supreme Council elections, NDI researchviable option for political change, but March 2009 focus groups show that many believe that Teform of the Electoral Code and voters’ list were required before meaningful elections could be held. Ensuring public confidence in the 2010 local, 2012 parliamentary and the 2013 presidential elections were thus an important test of the strength of Georgia's democratic trajectory. 1. ACTIVITIES Objective 1: Improve Impartial Electoral Information and Analysis One factor that has impeded public confidence in the electoral process in Georgia in the past has been the lack of reliable, impartial and easily accessible data on elections. In the absence of this data, election observers have been unable to identify and prioritize the most problematic regions, election administrators were unable to analyze regional trends in voting behavior, and political parties were not able to maximize campaign resources to effectively target and reach pat to voters. Under the previous Sida-funded project, NDI created the first-ever database of historical election data and set of digital precinct maps of electoral results in Georgia. Figure 1: Major NDI program activities strengthening partners’ capacity NDI and Jumpstart developed the online election results database, including information on every election and by- election since Jan. 2008; database includes 50 million records "NDI and Jumpstart improved elections portal database, increased indicators and conducted one pre-election tation demonstrating new design In 2010, the Institute began mapping this data in an intuitive, web-based format. NDI’s digital maps were developed to support three main functions: election monitoring by local and international observers, election analysis by the CEC and other electoral authorities, and targeted use of campaign resources by political parties. Such electronic resources can help patties to conduct more effective election activities and monitoring, which increases public confidence in the electoral process by reassuring citizens that parties are effectively helping to safeguard the election. NDI analyzed and mapped the results of the May 2010 local elections 4and shared the findings with political parties and civil society organizations. NDI also held consultations with the CEC, political parties and nongovemmental organizations (NGOs) to analyze the voters lists and election results and to highlight important geographic areas for to make analysis and identification of trends easier, the database included a mapping section that allowed parties to view information in either map or list format, kn late 2010, however, and in consultation with Georgian legal experts, the Institute determined {hat providing databases to individual political parties may be considered providing material gubPort to a Party and constitute a violation of Georgian law. NDI, in consultation with Sida, then decided that the elections databases should be combined into one, publicly accessible database. Throughout 2011, NDI worked to update the election results database, Date from the 2010 municipal election was added in early 2011, and, as of June 2011, the database included more than 50 million records. money, effort) by identifying geographic areas where parties could have the greatest potential impact. For instance, the database can identify geographic areas where parties are likely to find Potential supporters based on recent electoral results, areas that are likely to vote for opponents and areas with large numbers of undecided voters. These efforts were coupled with training for consulted with civic organizations to stress the importance of election analysis and how to use Past trends in the data to help create deployment plans for nonpartisan election observers, The screen shot below demonstrates the type of information available through the porta. It shows the district of Sighnaghi, which voted for Georgian Dream in the 2012 elections, The Precinct-level data highlighted below shows that the race was actually very competitive at the precinct level.Figure 2: Seren Shot of NDI Elections Portal Database Showing District- and Precinct- Level Elections Analysis in 2012 During 2013, NDI improved a variety of election data indicators, such as tumout, overall results, and individual party results, and added new indicators. This also included making technical improvements to the digital maps themselves and to the overall look and accessibility of the portal. In addition to election results, the site features a collection and analysis of publicly available data from the 2006 voters list up to the most recent voters list. Indicators such as the number of total voters, average age of voters, and duplications are available in a visual map format at various geographic levels. On October 2, 2013, NDI re-presented the database to the public in advance of the 2013 presidential election. Toward the close of the program, the Tostitute came to an agreement with its local election partner, the Intemational Society for Free Elections and Democracy (ISFED), to assume management of the database at the end of this program and ensure its sustainability. jentifying Trends and Causes of Voters List Irregularities [As part of NDI’s previous Sida-funded program, the Institute began a systematic assessment and analysis of Georgia's voters list. According to Sida-funded NDI opinion research, the voters list was long the top concern that Georgian citizens raised when asked about barriers to free and fair elections in Georgia. In an April 2010 NDI poll, for instance, 46 percent of respondents identified the voters list as the single largest barrier to free and fair elections in Georgia. These concerns were consistent with previous NDI polling, going back to 2008.‘Ahead of local elections in May 2010, the Institute and local partner the Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC) analyzed the preliminary version of the 2010 voters list using a computer logarithm program developed by both organizations. The Institute and CRRC were able to identify duplicate entries of voters, improbable entries and other possible anomalies. NDI presented the findings to the CEC, which compared the list to its own database and local information, corrected errors, and released a report detailing its efforts to update the voters list based on the problem areas identified in NDI’s digital maps. NDI and CRRC conducted a similar analysis of the 2011 yoters list. The Institute provided the CEC a list of names and addresses of records with anomalies and followed up on the commission's progress. The CEC either corrected the mistakes or determined that the seemingly anomalous entries were indeed correct. In addition to these consultations with CEC, NDI also loaded this analysis into the elections database to help demonstrate to partners the difference between voters’ perception of and the reality of the quality of the voters list. In summer 2012, both the CEC and NDI agreed that further analysis of the list would not be an effective use of resources because of the previous improvements the CEC made to the list, and because of the other priorities leading up to a contentious parliamentary election period. NDI continued to monitor Georgia's voters list in 2013 to ensure that the list retained accurate information on voters. By the end of the program, 12 versions of the voters list were loaded onto the elections portal, with the most recent lists from February and May 2013. Tracks i id the Conducting Public Opinion Research Polling Figure 3: Summary of NDI public opinion research conducted under this grant Year ity Total 13 Nationwide Surveys, From 2009 through 2013, the Institute conducted 13 public opinion polls in partnership with its public opinion research partner, CRRC. The purpose of this public opinion research was to help key partners (political partes, the government, NGOs and the media) identify and respond to citizen priorities. The public opinion research also helped NDI to track citizen concems about various aspects of the electoral and political process, and to identify winich aspects have seen improvement and which continue to hinder public confidence.Pre-¢lection and one-post election —to identify the most important issues for citizens and public Poll demonstrated an 8 percent increase in the number of people who thought the elections were conducted well as compared to the 2008 elections. Survey results and analysis were shared with the CEC, local and intemational organizations, the diplomatic corps and political parties. The Institute also presented the post-election survey results to local government officials and local NGOs in Kutaisi, Batumi and Zugdidi. In consultations with political parties and the government, NDI stressed the data on public confidence in the electoral process and specific steps that parties and the administration could take to address voters’ key concerns, such as improving the voters list. 4m 2011, the Institute conducted two nationwide public opinion surveys, in March and September. The surveys indicated that economic issues such as rising prices and jobs continued to be of significant importance to Georgians. The survey revealed broad public support for ‘measures aimed at ameliorating the country’s economic difficulties, including vouchers for food and electricity. In the past, NDI’s polling included had three strata: capital, urban and rural. With the March survey, NDI expanded the urban stratum to gather city specific data, which allowed information from Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi and Rustavi to be shown alongside national and rural data. This enriched the understanding that research NDI partners, Georgian citizens, the media and the international community had about the priorities of citizens, and increased! their capacity to respond to these priorities. In September, the Institute included an expanded Stratum that allowed NDI to show city-level results for the cities listed above and Poti. NDI and CRRC continued to conducted nationwide public opinion surveys in February/ March, June, August, and November 2012. Results in the first half of 2012, even more than in previous showed a surge in positive perceptions of the Georgian democratic process, likely a reaction to the change in the political environment following the October parliamentary elections. 4n 2013, the Institute and CRRC conducted polls in March, June, September, and November. In 8 shift from previous polls, June survey also included a separate section on gender issues, due to the increased focus the program was placing on women's political participation in Georgia that year. Questions on the roles of women in Georgia’s politics, perceptions about differences between men and women, and views on women in leadership roles were included, Overall jobs Continued to remain the highest priority issue for respondents. At the beginning of 2013, respondents appeared to be very satisfied with the direction Georgia was headed in and confident about the conduct and the success of the 2013 presidential election,Focus Groups Figure 4: Summary of focus group research conducted LO Hite sets Of focus groups | 2013 In total, the Institute conducted nine sets of focus groups in partnership with CRRC. In 2010, the Institute conducted two rounds of focus group discussions. The focus groups consisted of two-hour conversations with groups of citizens, recruited based on characteristics such as political support, gender, voting intention and age. Representatives of the CEC, political parties and NGOs were invited to observe the focus group discussions and later the results of the research were shared with relevant stakeholders. The first round was conducted before the May 2010 local elections and looked at public attitudes toward the mayoral race, its major contenders and campaigns. The second round was conducted after the post-election attitudes toward the conduct of election, the electoral process and election results. Generally, people felt that the elections were conducted well, certainly as compared with the 2008 parliamentary elections, and that the electoral administration was viewed as well organized, orderly and professional — again, in contrast to 2008. ‘NDI again conducted focus groups in February, June and November of 2011. The February focus groups included 80 citizens, and focused on national and local priorities, the performance and outreach activities of newly elected/appointed local government representatives, and public awareness of local budgeting and the 2011 national budget. The focus groups also revealed that citizens saw improvements in infrastructure and city services in targeted cities but that respondents had little faith that local authorities could deal with larger issues such as unemployment, poverty and inflation. In June, NDI carried out a second round of focus groups in Tbilisi, Gori, Batumi, Poti, Kutaisi, and Telavi, with 120 citizens. The June focus groups results showed that jobs and inflation remain the most pressing issues for most Georgians, and that issues such as territorial integrity are seen as less important in light of pressing economic concerns. In November, NDI held two focus groups in each of the following five cities: Batumi, Kutaisi, Tbilisi, Telavi, and Zugdidi. In each city, one group of focus group respondents identified as United National Movement (UNM) supporters and one group identified as ‘opposition supporters. Broadly, the focus groups showed consensus across the political spectrum on areas of improvement, mostly related to large-scale infrastructure projects. There also was general consensus on challenges facing the country, namely inflation, unemployment, and the cost of education and healthcare. The Institute conducted three rounds of focus groups in 2012. In contrast to previous years, the February 2012 focus groups focused on a specific events rather than general perceptions. NDI organized three focus groups related to the president's State of the State address and three todiscuss the political debates that followed the address. Participants in all six focus groups identified themselves as likely voters, and individuals were split into groups based on party affiliation (UNM supporters, opposition supporters, and a group composed those who answered “don’t know” and “no party”). In these focus groups, NDI found that participants were interested in the debates following the State of the State, even though they lasted for hours, and were willing to share their impressions openly. NDI conducted focus groups in April 2012 with three groups of self-identified “likely voters” in Batumi, Kutaisi, Tbilisi, and Telavi, Rather than focusing on a single event, the groups discussed various political trends, current events, perceptions of Georgian democracy, and attitudes toward the upcoming elections. The results of the April focus groups were nuanced, with some positive indications for public confidence in the upcoming elections. NDI conducted its final round of focus groups for 2012 in November, providing insights into perceptions immediately following the parliamentary elections and the transition of the government. In total, NDI conducted 14 focus groups in the following cities and towns: Oni, Zugdidi, Kobuleti, ‘Samtredia, Tbilisi, Sighnaghi, and Khashuri (two focus groups conducted in each city.) The increase in the number of focus groups allowed NDI to collect a broad view of public opinion in the wake of the October parliamentary election. The cities were selected based on the results of the elections, and participants included only those who had voted. Participants were split into ‘two groups: UNM voters and Georgian Dream voters. Each group was comprised of 10 people and a mix of genders, ages, and employment; participants were recruited from sampling points in different parts of each city. The results of the focus groups presented a more nuanced view of Georgian perceptions on the newly elected government. In 2012, the Institute shared results of the three focus group analyses with selected partners to contextualize the polling data. The Institute conducted one series of focus groups in 2013. The intent of these focus groups was to develop an understanding of women’s political participation in ethnic minority regions to inform the Institute's activities under Objective 4 of this program. Focus groups took place during the first week of February in four cities: Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda in the Samtskhe- Javakheti region, and Bolnisi and Mameuli in the Kvemo Kartli region. The four cities were ‘chosen specifically to glean data from Armenian and Azerbaijani ethnic minorities. Four focus groups were conducted in each city, one each with women who identified themselves as Georgian Dream supporters; men who identified themselves as Georgian Dream supporters; ‘women who identified themselves as UNM supporters; and men who identified themselves as UNM supporters. Participants were voters in the 2012 parliamentary elections of mixed age and employment status, and were recruited from sampling points in different parts of each settlement. As NDI discovered when conducting similar focus groups in 2008, minorities continue to receive almost no information on Georgian politics and current events, and thus have a low understanding of political processes in Georgia. Sharing the Results of Public Opinion Research The Institute has shared the results of public opinion research with the public, including in press conferences describing the issues components and the political ratings components of each poll. ‘NDI also has shared the data in private consultations with political parties, the government, international stakeholders, and the media throughout this program. 10In the first year of NDI’s research, the Institute held meetings with program partners before releasing any research results to the public. However, the Institute found that information was being leaked and misrepresented to the press. Therefore, in consultation with Sida, NDI changed its approach to presenting research results. In late 2010, NDI began to publicize portions of the survey research focused on issues prior to political party presentations, NDI released the first public version of an Institute survey in March 2011 at a press conference in Tbilisi. The September 2011 poll was similarly presented later that year. Survey results and analysis were shared with program partners including political parties, local and interational organizations, the CEC, the diplomatic corps and the media. Subsequently, NDI held private presentations in Tbilisi, including single-party presentations with political parties, The Institute also organized public meeting in the cities where urban strata had been extended, to explore the priorities for that city that were identified in the polls. The meetings were organized in partnership with local NGOs and local government drew more than 200 citizens total. The Institute also shared 2011 focus group data with selected partners, including the U.S. Embassy and Sida representatives in Tbilisi. After more leaks in 2012 on the political ratings data, NDI also began to prepare a public version of the political ratings portion of the survey. Since 2012, with each round of polling, ‘NDI has held separate press conferences for the release of a public version of the issues component of the survey and of the political ratings component of the poll. Each press conference included a summary of the most relevant findings. NDI also used the press conference as an opportunity to communicate the specifics of its sampling frame so that the media understood the details of NDI’s methodology and what conclusions could legitimately be drawn, In 2012, NDI released the issues portion of the February/March research publicly and then shared the political ratings privately. Following the June nationwide poll, NDI held two press conferences in Tbilisi, appeared on five television/radio programs, conducted four presentations in the regions and delivered nine presentations to parties, embassies, and other stakeholders. The June poll marked the first time the new methodology for publicizing results was utilized. NDI then made five presentations in other Georgian cities. NDI also organized individual presentations for major political parties, as well as two separate presentations for groups of ambassadors and one presentation for local and international NGOs. The Institute followed this approach for disseminating the data from the next two 2012 polls and for the four polls conducted in 2013. In addition, in 2013, NDI shared the findings of the February focus groups with its partner organizations working on ethnic minority and gender issues, including the Samtskhe-Javaktheti Media Center (the Media Center), the Women’s Information Center, and the Women’s Fund, 4Enhancing Partner Organizations’ Understanding of the Research Process Figure 5: Major program activities to help partners understand the research process Year “Activit ‘One training for local government officials and members of Parliament (MPs) from CDM ‘Survey design and methodology explanation prior to all political party presentations of polling data ‘Women campaign organizers session; Women’s Leadership Program session on research; consultation with local women’s groups on public opinion research The Institute worked with Georgian political parties and CSOs to help them to better understand the process by which public opinion research efforts are designed and conducted. This assistance helped to ensure that partners understand the publics demands in order to improve their specific outreach activities. In presentations for the Georgian Dream coalition (Georgian Dream, Republicans, Free Democrats, Conservatives, Industry Will Save Georgia, and National Forum parties), UNM, and the Christian Democratic Movement (CDM) (noted above), NDI focused not only on the data, but also understanding the research process and analysis. In early 2011, NDI conducted a training session for MPs and local government officials from the CDM on understanding and using survey research in communications with constituents and the media. The training included detailed information about how surveys are conducted, as well as a session on how to effectively utilize survey data in a town hall meeting, debate or television interview. The training ended with on-camera practice training for the members, to allow participants to practice their presentation skills in front of their peers. NDI integrated in-depth discussions of research methodology into each individual political party consultation, as well as, consultations with civil society. Twenty-two members of CDM participated in the training. In the fast-paced political climate of 2012, the Institute decided that it was not necessary to conduct specific training for partners on the research process as time-consuming election activities prohibited many political parties from participating. Instead, NDI included an element of education on survey design and methodology, as well as data interpretation, in each presentation of survey results to parties. The Institute also included elements of enhancing political party partner organizations? understanding of the research process under its Objective 4 activities in 2013. This included conducting a session of the women’s leadership program on public opinion research, educating ‘women party leaders on using the polls to conduct political research analysis to improve their understanding of constituents’ interests and concerns. In addition, a component of the women 12campaign organizers training session focused on explaining the methodology of public opinion research. These activities are described in more detail below. NDI also met with representatives from the Media Center, the Women’s Information Center (WIC), Women’s Political Resource Center (WPRC) and the Women’s Fund to share the results of the gender component of the June poll. The Institute explained the significance of the results. NDI then asked the organizations to review the gender component of the poll and consider presenting suggestions or recommendations for improving women’s political participation based on this research at the Win With Women Conference that December. More information about the conference is available below, in the reporting under Objective 4, Prom Two trainings for journalists conducted One public meeting held on public opinion research in Batumi, Kutaisi, Rustavi, ively. ‘One two-day basic training session for 12 journalists; one two- day advanced training session for nine journalists NDI has conducted multiple training sessions for journalists from since 2010 to improve the ‘media's understanding of the Institute's public opinion research process. The aim of this effort is to ensure that reporting on the polling and focus groups will accurately reflect the results and continue to improve the media's analyses of respondents’ attitudes and concerns. The Institute conducted two training sessions for media representatives in February and July 2010 on the basics of public opinion research (methodologies, sampling, survey questions and fieldwork.) A total of 40 leading political journalists from major media outlets and news agencies attended the sessions. In addition to including a short primer on research methodology before polling press conferences, NDI also organized two trainings for journalists during 2011. In September, NDI conducted training for Tbilisi-based journalists. NDI organized a similar training for journalists from Western Georgia in early December, drawing participants from local and national media outlets, as well as a mix of television, print, radio and intemet. Participating journalists at both training sessions learned about research methods, sample selection methodologies, data analysis, questionnaire design, and interview procedures. The training also included practical guidance on best practices in covering the results of public opinion research and information that news outlets should seek out when determining how to report on opinion research results. 13‘The 2012 decision to publicly share both the issue specific and party rating data following the June poll was made in part to assure accurate media representation of the polling results. In late February, NDI conducted a one-day training for journalists in eastern Georgia. A total of eight participants from Kartli and Kakheti regions attended the training, which focused on the types of research methods used by NDI with a focus on sample selection methodologies and interview procedures. In both June and September, NDI conducted a short training on media communication for its polling partner, CRRC. In 2013, NDI conducted a basic training for 12 journalists who had little or no training in public opinion research but an interest in leaming more about the purpose and methodology of such research. In addition, NDI conducted an advanced training session for nine journalists from Thilisi and Georgia’s regions. Trainees were selected based on their successful participation in the NDI basic journalist training sessions that were conducted in 2011 and 2012. The advanced training session was focused on more comprehensively analyzing survey slides. During the training session, joumalists were encouraged to think about the stories behind the results numbers, as media coverage of the polls frequently does not include any conclusions or analysis. ‘Objective 2: Increase Accountability of Election Officials and Political Party Election Observers and Officials th During this program, NDI identified obstacles to the effective performance of both partisan and nonpartisan election observers in Georgia, and, through consultations with party representatives and leaders, developed solutions and implemented effective changes ahead of each election cycle. Following changes to the Georgian electoral code in 2008, elections commissions at all levels (central, district, and precinct election commissions) are now comprised of a mixture of partisan and nonpartisan election administrators. Parties lacked tools and struggled to assess the performance of their nonpartisan election administrators, and as a result did not have the information necessary to re-train or replace problematic administrators. ‘As mentioned above, in the initial program design, NDI planned to utilize individualized, organizational databases to help parties assess the performance of election administrators in past, elections, identifying precincts that had a high-than-average number of observer complaints or where the CEC had nullified the results. In 2010, the implementation of these databases was delayed to the timing of local elections. Instead, NDI offered parties the opportunity to participate in training-of trainer (ToT) sessions in order to improve their capacities to train election administrators. Only CDM requested ToTs for election administrators. In order to help targeted parties monitor the performance of their observers, NDI worked with local partner Jumpstart through March 2011 to design organizational management databases that would help parties communicate with, deploy, and assess the performance of both election administrators and partisan observers. In March, however, the Institute discovered that that assisting with a party's databases would violate Georgian law, as it would be considered material support to a party from a foreign source. NDI, in consultation with political party 14Partners and Sida, explored alternatives that would be in compliance with the law. In late 2011 and in 2012, as a substitute for the databases, the Institute held consultations with cach of the major Georgian political parties to discuss the process by which partisan election administrators were selected and how they were trained. Consultations included assessing lessons leamed from the 2010 municipal elections, including problems faced in managing and training partisan election administrators. NDI found that none of the parties were regularly tracking election administrators or assessing their performance, In 2012, NDI consulted with the Gcorgian Dream coalition and the Christian Democratic Movement on this topic during the election period. The Institute offered to consult with UNM, however, UNM declined the assistance due to lack of need. In 2012 and 2013, NDI continued to find that political parties chose to focus their electoral activities on other priorities. In consultation with Sida, NDI decided not to continue implementing partisan pollwatching training and to focus on other political party activities, such as improving women’s participation in the parties. oli to Ti Improved methodology for political party ToTs was developed in consultation with three parties Five consultations with five political parties on standard m es for tr i i In many countries, particularly where public confidence in elections may be weak, partisan pollwatchers can play a key role in safeguarding elections and improving public confidence in the outcomes. As described above, in 2010, NDI had planned to utilize organizational databases and the elections results database to help parties better track and evaluate the work of their 15lection monitors, but these plans were delayed. In concert with that approach, the Institute conducted a series of training sessions to help parties improve the preparedness of their observers in April 2010. These ToTs were attended by representatives of UNM, Democratic Party of Georgia, Alliance for Georgia, NDP, and Industry Will Save Georgia, with a total of 137 coordinators participating. These coordinators were then assigned by their parties to conduct trainings for their partisan observers. In addition, NDI and IRI produced 15,000 Georgian-language partisan observer manuals, which were distributed to those parties participating in ToTs. DI held consultations with UNM, the Democratic Party of Georgia, and Alliance for Georgia throughout 2011 to discuss their needs related to training, monitoring and evaluating the performance of partisan election observers. Through these consultations, NDI determined that all three major parties were still in need of assistance to train partisan election observers. In order to address that need, and in conjunction with party leaders, NDI designed a second series of ToTs to create a cadre of trainers within each party. Upon discovering that the Intemational Republican Institute (IRI) had planned to conduct similar ToTs, in 2012 NDI partnered with IRI to organize ToTs for 13 political parties during 18 four-day training sessions. In total, NDI and IRI jointly trained more than 420 party activists, who then were able to train partisan pollwatchers from their own parties. Together, the institutes conducted three single-party training sessions (UNM and New Rights, CDM and the Christian- Democratic People’s Party), a series of trainings for Georgian Dream coalition members, and ‘one multiparty training for small opposition parties (Industrialists, Georgian Group, European Democrats, National Democrats, and Georgian Way). In the final year of this program, the Institute reached out to parties to discuss potential election observation activities prior to the October 27, 2013, presidential election. However, parties had minimal interest in conducting election observation activities, and therefore NDI did not hold ‘any consultations. As a result, NDI amended its strategy for the 2013 election cycle to account for party preferences to conduct other activities, including increased consultations with parties on public opinion research and women’s political participation. Developing Organizational Databases for Nongovernmental Organizations In 2010, the Institute planned to develop databases for civil society organizations (CSOs), as it had received feedback from its CSO partners that they needed assistance in tracking members ‘and volunteers. The Institute drew upon its initial efforts to develop individual political party databases to track their activities as well as organizational database it has developed for local partner ISFED under a previous program. NDI worked with local partner the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) to develop and finalize a database aimed at monitoring and improving the quality of GYLA’s internal ‘organization in 2011. In cooperation with Jumpstart, NDI created an “intranet” that allows GYLA to track staff and members across its nationwide network, In addition to serving as a ‘management tool for GYLA’s central and regional offices, the website also allows for GYLA to solicit feedback from its membership on legal, legislative and electoral matters in a secure environment. The GYLA website was completed and launched in late 2011. 16In 2012, NDI worked with local partner Jumpstart Georgia to design and launch a second organizational database for GYLA. This database is an internal organizational tool meant to help GYLA track the training, performance, and deployment of its volunteers. GYLA assumed ownership of the database in early spring 2013. GYLA continues to work with Jumpstart Georgia, with NDI facilitation and technical assistance, to improve the database’s functionality to meet GYLA’s needs. Objective ‘Increase Transparency and Accountability of Electoral Administration Figure 8: Chart of NDI subgrantee activities on monitoring election administration ISFED and GYLA prepared a set of recommendations for the Electoral Code Working Group, including on improving the selection process for election administrators ISFED and GYLA cooperated to produce a second set of recommendations in October 2011, after the election code had been introduced into parliament GYLA used tools developed during the 2010 municipal election to monitor the composition of the electoral lections in Telavi ISFED and GYLA issued one final report on their findings in early 2013, Observing Precinct Election Commissions and District Election Commissions |n Georgia’s recent election cycles, one factor that has weakened public confidence in the elections has been a perception of impunity of the nonpartisan election administration members appointed to the precinct and district level. For example, cases were reported in which election administrators previously sanctioned for violations were reappointed. Additionally, some election administrators had clear conflicts of interest or an employment relationship with the precinct election commission (PEC) chairperson (e.g., a school principal serves as the PEC 7chair, and his teachers make up the rest of the commission). In order to monitor the election ‘administration in the period between the 2010 local and 2012 parliamentary elections, NDI provided subgrants to two Georgian election monitoring organizations, GYLA and ISFED, to track local implementation of electoral reforms and legal complaints. In April 2010, ISFED and GYLA compiled a list of all precinct and district election officials whose performance in elections over the past two years had either resulted in the precinct results, being annulled by higher electoral commissions due to irregularities or in the filing of official complaints and/or sanctions regarding the election conduct and/or results. ISFED and GYLA presented this list to the chairman of the CEC and recommended that these individuals not be selected. In addition, ISFED long-term observers monitored the selection process of election officials in 72 districts. ISFED observers tracked the number of district election commission (DEC) sessions, the timing of the selection process for observers and whether or not the selection process excluded individuals whose names appears on the ISFED/GYLA list of officials whose inadequate work resulted in serious violations in past elections. In the post-2010 election period, and with support from NDI, GYLA evaluated how the CEC and DECs addressed complaints about the actions of election commission members. GYLA observed the complaints review process by the CEC and DECs, and analyzed the decision-making process regarding the liability of election officials for their job performance. As a result of this analysis, GYLA developed a list of problems with the system. GYLA and ISFED continued this monitoring prior to the parliamentary elections in 2012. NDI issued new subgrants to ISFED and GYLA to support their efforts to track the appointment of election administrators for the 2012 elections and for GYLA to monitor any sanctions against ‘lection administrators by official bodies after the elections. Beginning approximately two months before the fall 2012 elections, GYLA. and ISFED monitored the process by which election commissions were formed, the implementation of newly adopted recommendations on lection administration accountability (database, CEC code of conduct), and whether election officials who had previously been sanctioned for electoral violations were allowed to return to their posts. In addition, ISFED and GYLA met with the CEC to cement cooperation in this effort, collected data about PEC members appointed by political parties, and reviewed the “black list” of PEC members who were temporarily banned from service on account of grave mistakes or incompetence. ISFED and GYLA then conducted a statistically based observation of precincts throughout Georgia in order to assess the qualifications, possible conflicts of interest, and past performance of election administrators and collected information on nonpartisan PEC members appointed to each precinct. ISFED and GYLA assembled the results of the findings into one report that was made available to the public shortly before the elections. The report indicated that there were 52 incidents of possible conflict of interest in 13 percent of the precincts sampled. The monitoring also revealed that 75 individuals who had been disciplined during the 2010 municipal elections were appointed as PEC members by DECs for the same regions in the 2012 parliamentary elections. GYLA and ISFED provided this information to the CEC prior to the election and used these findings to further advocate for legislative changes for the “black list” in an effort to prolong the punishment time from one year to one election cycle. ISFED and GYLA produced a final report based on this research, which includes practical and legislative recommendations for future elections, which was published in 2013. 18Monitoring Changes to the Electoral Code citizen representatives, continue to contribute to the code and to bring attention to areas that stil need improvement. Thus, with NDI support, GYLA and ISFED sought to raise awareness about electoral improvements that were not incorporated into the 2011 amendments In 2011, following consultations with NDI, and drawing on information gathered during the 2010 muni i Partnered with two other Georgian organizations © the CEC maintain a database of election commissioners that have violated election procedures or have been dismissed from their posts; * any election commissioner who is sanctioned twice for election violations be subjected to disciplinary measures and barred from serving as an election official for a period of ‘wo elections; © the CEC develop a code of conduct for election observers; and © the administrative punishment for violations match the severity of the transgression. |n2013, GYLA and ISFED, with NDI assistance, advocated forthe following changes, based ‘on their experiences with the 2012 parliamentary elections: © requiring the CEC to train and certify members of electoral commissions (at least one person in each precinct commission should be certified); * climinating the requirement for precinct electoral commission members to sign and stamp voters ballots (in 2012, some PEC members used this requirement to invalidate ballots); and © extending the penalty for malfeasance by electoral officials from a one year suspension toa one election cycle suspension. Although not originally envisioned in NDI’s proposal, in 2012 the Institute began consulting directly with the CEC to improve its transparency and accountability. NDI conducted Sommunications training and provided assistance to the CEC’s small grants commission during 2012. As follow-up to the communications training session, in 2012 NDI provided the CEC’s small grant commission guidance to professionalize its grant practices, with NDI attending the commission’s meetings and provides capacity-building support as necessary, NDI attended several of the CEC’s small grant commission meetings as it continued to issue small grants to 19local NGOs to conduct research on the post-election environment. In addition, the Institute attended grant recipients’ presentations on their electoral activities and provided feedback to the ‘commission on the NGOs’ reporting and on the commission's review of these reports. Objective 4: Improve the Electoral Performance of Women for the 2010 Local and 2012 Parliamentary Elections Increasing the Number of Women Candidates in the Electoral Process ‘NDI conducted its women’s political participation initiatives through partnerships with the leadership of Georgian political parties, specifically those that participated in elections, qualified for public financing, had current goverment representation, and/or demonstrated considerable popular support throughout this program. NDI also conducted consultations with party leadership to examine public opinion research on the attitudes of voters toward the Selection and election of women candidates and advised parties on the need to develop plans for increasing gender balance and promoting gender equality within their ranks. In December 2011, the Parliament of Georgia adopted legislation. incentivizing parties to increase the number of women on the party lists. In order to facilitate discussion on the new legislation and to ensure that all affected parties understood the law, NDI coordinated with the Parliament's Gender Equality Advisory Council (GEAC) to organize a meeting in late January 2012 with 11 political parties. Political party representatives engaged in a discussion on the legislation, with some representatives hailing it as a good first step and others lamenting the new law as unnecessary or insufficient. Women’s Political Participation Conferences Figure 9: Chart of major NDI women’s political participation activities 2013 ‘One Win with Women Conference held with 13 political parties participating In April 2010, NDI organized a conference in Tbilisi to discuss the current level of women’s participation in elected bodies, explore the constraints and challenges facing women running for elected office, review the institutional mechanisms that exist for increasing gender equality, and present political parties’ plans to enhance the role of women in the May 2010 local elections and beyond. Approximately 200 participants from civil society, political parties, parliament, government, the diplomatic corps and international organizations attended the event. 20At the close of this event, leaders of 11 politcal parties running in the local elections signed the ‘Win with Women Global Action Plan'’ an NDI document with practical recommendations to help parties become more inclusive of women. Signatory parties include the UNM, CDM, OGFD, the Republican Party, New Rights Party, Georgia's Way, Industry will Save Georgia, National Council, National Democratic Party (NDP), Democratic Party of Georgia and Georgian Troupe. The conference was the only event in the lead up to the May local elections at which the ruling party, parliamentary opposition and nonparliamentary opposition attended and signed an agreement. In September 2011, NDI organized a conference in cooperation with the Gender Equity Council of the Parliament of Georgia. The conference was entitled, “2011-2013 National Action Plan for Implementation of Gender Equality ~ Objectives and Opportunities” and brought together senior policymakers, political party leaders, and members of the NGO community to discuss the Parliament of Georgia's National Action Plan on gender equality. The section of the action plan dealing with women’s political participation included text taken directly from the Win with Women (WWW) Global Action Plan. The conference was attended by more than 200 participants, including representatives of goverment and civil society, as well as members of parliament and parliamentary staff. In November 2012, NDI hosted a third conference, entitled, “Win with Women: Strengthening Political Parties,” to continue the discussion on women’s political participation in Georgia. The conference provided a timely forum for interparty discussions, given the 2012 parliamentary elections that had just taken place. Participants at the conference included representatives from all of the major political parties and women candidates, who were given the opportunity to discuss the challenges and opportunities they faced during campaigning. At the end of the conference three additional political parties expressed their willingness to join the Global Action Plan by signing the WWW pledge: Democratic Movement — United Georgia, Georgian Dream — Democratic Georgia, and Women’s Party for Justice and Equality. NDI held a fourth Win with Women Conference was held in December 2013 for 100 Participants. The conference included a discussion on women’s progress in political participation since 2012. NDI also presented its public opinion research on public perceptions of women’s role in politics and government in Georgia, which included data from NDI’s June 2013 poll. The research supports the fact that Georgians, by and large, support increased women’s political participation in Georgia, that demand is increasing for women candidates in Georgia and that Georgians are willing to support political parties that take action to increase women’s representation. Consulting with Political Parties As a follow up to the Win with Women conference held in 2010, NDI consulted with participating political parties in implementing the Institute's Global Action Plan's recommendations. "The Win with Women Global Action Plan was developed by NDI in 2003, and outlines practical recommendations to help political parties broaden their appeal by becoming more inclusive and representative. ‘More information can be found on NDI’s website at http:/ww.ndi.org/WinWith Women/Global ActionPlan. 21In November and December 2011, NDI held consultations and structured interviews with 10 of the 11 parties that had signed the Win with Women Global Action Plan in 2010, with the aim of implementing the plan in the parties’ internal structures. At each of these meetings, NDI conducted a structured interview to assess the targeted parties’ mechanisms and procedures for including women as candidates, elected officials, and party leaders. The assessments identified many common issues impeding greater women’s participation within in all of the parties, including a lack of understanding of how women’s wings could fit into the party and of how to integrate women into the party as leaders and candidates. NDI conducted a series of workshops in April and May 2012 that aimed to help the women’s wings of the 11 signatory parties of the Win with Women Global Action Plan to make their parties more gender sensitive, and to improve the advocacy and organizational skills of individual participants. NDI conducted five single-party workshops for the New Rights, Christian Democrats, Free Democrats, UNM, and Republican parties, and one multiparty workshop for the National Democratic Party, Georgian Democratic Party, Industrialists, Georgian Group, and Georgia’s Way, reaching a total of 106 participants. The workshops offered participants insights into the history of women’s political participation movements worldwide, and included small group exercises to help parties strengthen their women’s wings and included strategy sessions to help women develop effective strategies for negotiations with male party leadership. Following each consultation, NDI produced strategy reports on improving the role of women for each of the individual parties. In August of 2012, NDI also conducted individual consultations with party leaders of four major political parties/coalitions: CDM, UNM, New Rights and Georgian Dream. Following these consultations, NDI conducted training for seven women candidates from all four parties from diverse areas of the country, including Telavi, Poti, Kobuleti, and Rustavi. During each of the consultations, NDI guided female majoritarian candidates and one or two of their key campaign staffers through a review of the district-specific information of the NDI public opinion survey conducted in June 2012. In 2013, NDI held a number of meetings with partner political parties and their leaders to further familiarize them with NDI’s women’s political participation efforts and increase collaboration on these efforts. Party representatives were asked about their party’s approach to gender and to propose women participants for 2013 NDI activities. As a result of these discussions and based on parties’ interest, in May 2013, NDI facilitated ‘more detailed consultation sessions with five of the major political parties: the Conservative party of Georgia, Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia, Free Democrats, the Republican Party of Georgia, and the United National Movement. The aim of these consultations was to assist parties in formalizing their approaches to women’s political participation by developing party gender strategies, gender policies, and other living documents that they could apply to their daily work. These efforts also were aimed to mobilize women for the 2014 local elections ‘as candidates for elected office. 22International Study Visit NDI organized a study visit to Stockholm in 2011 for five Georgian political party leaders representing three parties (the UNM, CDM, and Free Democrats). ‘The purpose of the study visit was to expose Georgian parties to tools and techniques used to increase the number cf ‘women on the party lists and in leadership positions, in the absence of a government-mandated quota. Georgian participants met with representatives of four Swedish parties — the Social Democrats, Moderates, Christian Democrats, and Liberals ~ encompassing both the ruling coalition and the opposition, as well as government representatives, During meetings with Swedish political parties, participants leamed about parties’ women’s organization or wings, and other elements of party structure. In addition to meeting with parties, NDI also set up meetings for Georgian participants with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sida, and the Ministry of Gender Equality. At the latter meeting, the group leamed more about the history of the gender equality movement in Sweden, as well as about the funding mechanism for political parties in Sweden Training of Campaign Organizers organizers had the skills to conduet training sessions for volunteers in their cities and then recruit and train 10 election campaign volunteers themselves. Participating parties included Georgian Dream coalition (Georgian Dream, Republicans, Free Democrats, Conservatives, Industry Will Save Georgia, and National Forum parties) and UNM. NDI conducted three, two. and-one-half day training sessions aimed at providing participants with skills to recruit and train volunteers, and teaching them how to identify target groups and develop targeted messages. Women's Leadership Program NDI launched a multiparty leadership program for women working in party central offices in 2013; the program is similar to a Swedish partisan training program called “Action MKF.” NDI’s goal was to train and monitor the progress of a group of leaders over the course of one year. The Institute solicited 18 candidates from partner political parties: the Republicans, Georgian Dream, the Free Democrats, National Forum, UNM, the Christian Democrats, the Conservatives and New Rights, ‘NDI conducted the program sessions in March, May and July. * The March session focused on focused on intemal party management techniques, leadership, and activism, including the political environment in which women find themselves in Georgia; the 2012 U.S. elections and gender gap as a comparative case study; reasons for parties to have internal strategies on gender; methodologies to advocate a women’s agenda inside the party; and training on advocacy campaigns and professionalism, ‘* The May session focused on the subject of political analysis and public opinion polling. The purpose of the first day of the session was to provide the participants with a basicunderstanding of public opinion polling, including the process of conducting polls, how to judge the reliability of a poll, cross-tabulation and how to analyze and read graphs. ‘The second day of the session focused on developing messages and talking points. ‘© The July session focused on messaging and the importance of developing relationships with the media during a campaign. Presentations provided information about how to deal with the media while campaigning, and how to use public opinion research to promote themselves as candidates. ‘Support to Organizations Wi Increase Wome tation in Pol Women’s Political Resource Center (WPRC) In order to promote the electoral participation of women in ethnic and religious minority areas, in 2010 NDI issued a subgrant to and worked with WPRC to conduct voter education workshops in Kvemo Kartli and Adjara in the lead up to the 2010 local elections. The ‘workshops were focused on women’s political and social rights, importance of participating in tlections and election-day procedures. More than 200 participants attended the 12 WPRC training sessions (six in each region) over 10 days in May 2010. In June 2012, NDI issued a second subgrant to WPRC to conduct activities in Samtskhe- Javakheti and Kvemo Kartli, two areas of Georgia with a high percentage of ethnic minorities. WPRC held two types of training for women in these regions on participation of ethnic/religious minority women as voters, and on training election observer mobile groups. The training covered the following issues: women’s domestic and political concems; democratic governance ‘and structure; elections; women’s political and social rights; women’s participation in political decision-making processes; voters” rights and responsibilities; the importance of making @ choice in elections; and voting requirements and procedures. WPRC also launched a media campaign during the pre-election period to reach out to women voters and publicize the training. Women’s Information Center (WIC) In 2011, the Institute issued a subgrant to WIC to support the preparation of a shadow report on. the Georgian government’s commitment under the UN Commission on the Status of Women and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The Institute held consultations with WIC on strategic planning for writing the report and on developing its communications plan for presenting the report to the UN. NDI also advised WIC on advocacy activities, resulting in WIC holding two public presentations on women’s political issues, which informed the report. The shadow report was completed in late 2011. WIC had originally intended to present the report to the UN in 2011, but delays in the development of the official Georgian government report have required WIC to push its presentation to 2014. In March 2013, in lieu of providing support for the presentation of the report to the UN, NDI provided financial support for WIC’s attendance at a CEDAW conference on preventing and eliminating violence against women and girls, and governmental and civil society actions that can be taken to do so. WIC attended the conference to promote its CEDAW shadow report 24recommendations, as well as to observe the high level Georgian delegation that attended. WIC Participated in a panel session on these topics. WIC’s report on the conference will be shared with Sida in hard copy. Samtskhe-Javakheti Media Center In 2012, the Institute issued a small subgrant to the Samtskhe-Javakheti Media Center to work with women in the ethnic minority regions of Samiskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo Kartl, empowering them to participate in the electoral process by providing them with increased information about the Georgian political process. The project, called “Women Vote,” included training sessions for women leaders, a media campaign and community meetings for local ‘women. In May, NDI traveled to Borjomi to hold a capacity-building workshop for the center ‘timed at integrating the NDI-funded project into the Media Center's larger strategic plan NDI continued this program in 2013, solidifying the network of 15 women community leaders from five ethnic minority communities in Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo Kartli established in 2012. NDI staff conducted an advocacy campaign training session for the women community leaders organized by the Media Center on May 5, to prepare the community leaders to conduct their own local meetings. The Media Center conducted 80 meetings in 2013, with over 800 Participants. Meetings covered broad topics of relevance to women, including women and politics, what prevents women’s participation in the development of small business, violence in families and the upcoming presidential election. The project also educated a broad cross-section of women in these ethnic minority communities about the electoral process through the facilitation of discussion groups. The Media Center held training sessions in Borjomi for members of the women leaders network, i information on public opinion research and effective communication methods. In addition, the Media Center produced 29 talk shows in local minority languages to be broadcast in the regions, to provide increased information to women in these communities about the election, the overall political situation in Georgia, and the importance of voting and voting rights. IV. Evaluation NDI's monitoring and evaluation plan for this program guided Institute staff and partners in: measuring and reporting on the program of the program to Sida; assessing the outcomes and impact of the program over time; and informing the strategic development and direction of democracy building efforts in Georgia. The plan included conducting a program context! problem analysis and a stakeholder analysis; defining the program’s strategic objectives; ‘identifying critical assumptions; analyzing risks to the program and risk management; designing a program methodology that includes data collection and determining anticipated results; and ensuring sustainability of programming, 25Objective 1: Improve impartial electoral information and analysis Result: Partners have technological tools and increased capacity to conduct electoral and voters list analysis. NDI research and analysis used in partners’ activities. Intermediate Results: ‘e Targeted program partners (political parties, local NGOs, election administration) have an increased capacity to maintain and update an lection results database and to interpret electoral results. ‘© Targeted program partners (election administration, domestic election monitors, media, political parties) have an increased capacity to read and interpret electoral maps, and to integrate electoral maps into their relevant election-related activities. «Targeted program partners (political parties, domestic election monitoring organizations, political parties) have an increased capacity to interpret the results of public opinion research, and utilize the results of public opinion research to inform their activities. © Targeted media partners analyze and utilize public opinion research and election maps in their reporting. NDI has achieved the final result for Objective 1 by ensuring that program partners possess an understanding of the value and uses of digital maps and public opinion research. Examples of this result follow below. The Institute has helped Georgian partners achieve an understanding of the value of public opinion research, in particular, by providing program partners with an understanding of the different types of opinion research and a basic understanding of the purpose, function and methodology of opinion research in political and election organizing. ‘Those organizations and individuals targeted for advanced trainings now have a deeper understanding of survey methodology, including questionnaire design and data analysis. Elections ‘The 2012 parliamentary elections were the most competitive in the country in a decade and marked an important step in establishing a pluralist Georgian legislature. Notwithstanding some problems, primarily in the pre-election period, the electoral process allowed citizens to make informed choices and express their will at the ballot box. On election day, voters went to the polls in large numbers in a mostly calm and orderly process, polling officials worked diligently ‘over long hours to organize a proper election process, and party agents and citizen election observers cooperated with electoral officials in the vast majority of polling stations. Specific improvements from previous elections included expanded verification of the voters list to increase public trust in their quality; the proactive work of the Central Election Commission (CEC), which educated voters and trained and monitored lower level election officials; and the so-called “must carry” provision obligating cable operators to carry a more diverse set of Georgian broadcasters and TV channels throughout the campaign, giving Georgians access to & plurality of information sources, particularly access to pro-opposition media perspectives.” ? See “Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions,” published by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the European Parliament (EP) and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA), published October 1, 2012: bttp:/Awww.osce.org/odihr/94593?downloadtrue 26‘The 2013 presidential election was Georgia's sixth presidential election since independence and the second peaceful, electoral transfer of executive power between two political parties. The election period showcased an important test of the government's commitment to democratic fundamentals of democracy: a calm and orderly balloting process; a credible political opposition; @ parliament characterized by meaningful debate and decisions; an experienced Central Election Commission; an increasingly independent judiciary; an active civil society; and a diverse media environment. ? Following the success of the 2012 elections, a second successful election within a one-year Period represented a developing tradition of democratic electoral processes and a step forward for Georgian democracy. In a post-election poll conducted by NDI, 89 percent of Georgians stated that the election was conducted well compared with 79 percent who felt that the Parliamentary elections were conducted well. For the first time since the Institute began conducting public opinion research in 2008, a majority of Georgians (54 percent) stated that they believed Georgia was a democracy. The 2013 election period saw concrete political discussion and announcements which demonstrated that Georgian candidates for office were taking action on issues identified as important to Georgian citizens, an improvement over previous elections in Georgia. Citations of NDI-developed digital maps and public opinion research were frequent during the election period. Several examples are illustrated below. Through these examples, NDI concludes that its efforts in providing impartial electoral information and analysis have had an impact on political actors’ ability to understand the value and use of this research. The online elections database, a project initially undertaken by NDI with Sida-funding in 2008, ‘was enhanced, completed and launched in May of 2012. Through ongoing consultations with political parties during 2012, NDI demonstrated how the database can be used to maximize resources (time, money, effort) by identifying geographic areas of the greatest potential impact. For example, in 2013, NDI utilized the elections database in its USAID-funded training for ‘women candidates, demonstrating precinct targeting to candidates. NDI fielded requests from the United National Movement party for more information on the database, which assisted them in utilizing the data in its outreach activities, NDI also trained partner organizations to conduct increasingly sophisticated analysis of data, increasing the accountability and checks on the integrity of the electoral process among a wide range of actors, The Institute's partner organization, ISFED, used the digital maps component of the database to prioritize precincts to review the voters list, based on mapped irregularities from previous elections. During the clection period of October 1 through November 30, 2013, the Portal was visited 2,675 times, including 582 visits on election day. *See “OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission Final Report” published January 14, 2014: |ttp://www.osce.org/odihrielections/1 10301?download=true a7ISFED is one of the most well-respected and well-established election monitoring organizations in Georgia. In the 2013 presidential election, ISFED engaged more than 900 volunteers throughout Georgia to participate in election monitoring activities. In addition to election monitoring, ISFED has implemented a number of projects in civic education and local governance to increase the transparency of government activities and promote accountability By committing to continue the elections data portal and engaging its own resources in that effort, ISFED has demonstrated that the portal has significant value to stakeholders. In addition, public statements made by many of presidential candidates in the run-up to the lection demonstrated an increased understanding of and appreciation for the public opinion research, and for evidenced-based data representing voters’ feelings and concerns. For example, Georgian Dream presidential candidate Giorgi Margvelashvili made increasing jobs a significant issue in his campaign platform, as a result of determining that this was a major concern of constituents.* The UNM candidate, Davit Bakradze, who ran in second place during, ‘most of the campaign period, utilized the results of the poll to run a competitive campaign until lection day, stating that, “The fact that, the difference between me and the governmental candidate is only 20 percent, proves that the presidential elections will be competitive and acute.” Similarly, CDM presidential candidate Giorgi Targamandze spoke publicly about how data demonstrated that there was a strong chance that there would be a second round of the ‘election because many voters were undecided in September 2013. Voters List ‘NDI’ strategy of using software to spot anomalous entries on the voter lists, and then mapping the results and distributing the analysis and maps to local partners, contributed to improving the accuracy of the voter rolls. In October 2011, the Goverment of Georgia established an independent commission made up of political party, government and NGO representatives to verify the voter lists. The establishment of this commission was the result of ongoing consultations between NDI and the CEC on the voters list. Citizen confidence in the voters list increased for a time during this program. In September 2011, NDI’s polling showed that 24 percent of citizens felt that the voters lists posed the most serious problem to free and fair elections. By a pre-parliamentary election survey in August 2012, however, 18 percent of those surveyed felt that problems with the voters list were the {greatest barrier to free and fair elections. In NDI’s post-election survey in November 2012, 12 percent of those surveyed felt similarly. The Institute feels that the lack of publicity surrounding the CEC’s efforts on improving the voters list resulted in an upswing of concern about the voters list, to 23 percent, in the November 2013 poll. Policy Announcements and Political Statements In addition to public statements and actions taken during the election period relative to electoral candidates, beginning in 2011 the Institute observed that specific policy announcements which demonstrate a continued understanding of the Institute-provided data and analysis. * Owen, Elizabeth. “Georgia: More of the Same with Margvelashvili2” Eurasianet.org, September 23, 2013, janet. 61535, 28For example, the increased political discussion on unemployment can be attributed in part to the Institute's work under Objective 1. Continuing a trend that NDI has noted since polling began in 2009, jobs remain the most important national issue for a majority of Georgians. In its March 2013 poll, 61 percent of Georgians felt that jobs were the most important national issue; this Was a slight increase from the November 2012 poll, which indicated that 56 percent of Georgia felt that jobs were the most important national issue. The percentage continued to climb in the last poll of the program, which took place in November 2013, in which 62 percent of respondents identified jobs as the most important national issue facing the country. The ruling arty coalition, Georgian Dream, has recognized the importance of unemployment as a direct result of the Institute’s public opinion research, based on feedback the Institute has received from political party leaders during private presentations. These comments also have been made publicly. For example, in May, Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili acknowledged that unemployment is “the biggest problem for our country.”* In the second half of 2013, the Parliament also demonstrated that it was paying attention to and acting on public opinion research produced by NDI. For example, in July 2013, the legislature's human rights committee passed a statement stating that violence in unacceptable, in response to the events of May 17, 2013, in which individuals interrupted a peaceful demonstration protesting the treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered individuals. Despite some Controversy surrounding the statement, its language was influenced by the outery among citizens against the violence, including citizen responses in NDI’s June poll, in which 49 Percent of respondents indicated that they did not approve of the actions of these individuals, which included injuring protesters, police officers, and the destruction of private property. UNM party leaders made several comments that indicated their investment in the Institute’s public opinion research. For example, comments on the September poll made by UNM leaders mostly focused on the decrease of Georgian Dream’s ratings, explaining that it was due to an economy perceived to be in decline and the high rate of unemployment. UNM leader Goka Gabashvili made a following statement on Kavkasia: “Economic growth has stopped, jobs have not been created and therefore a decrease in (Georgian Dream’s) ratings is very natural.” Members of the Georgian Dream coalition also continue to cite the public opinion research in their public statements. Their main focus was that the overall situation has not changed and Georgian Dream continues to have the highest rating among political parties. MP Eka Beselia also talked about the rating of then-GD presidential candidate Giorgi Margvelashvili in September: “People will get to know Giorgi Margvelashvili better in the regions and his rating will increase.” Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili pointed to the Institute's public opinion research when speaking about the role of the Georgian Orthodox Church in the country’s effort to European integration: “Also for your information, according to public opinion surveys, the majority of the population supports country’s European integration process.”” {PM Criticizes Labor Code Amendments,” Civil.ge, May 7, 2013; hitpulcivi. ge/ena/artcle php?id=26031, * “Parliament passes statement on anti LGBT violence,” Democracy and Freedom Watch, July 17, 2013, “PM: Georgian Church not an obstacle to European intesration.” Civil ge, February 3, 2014, 29Tracking Issues of Public Concern NDI focus groups showed a consistent public interest in more information about parties’ and politicians’ plans to address economic and social issues such as employment, education, and communal fees. For example, in February 2012, citizens generally approved of recent reforms, but expressed concerns over whether the reforms would make a difference in their lives. In the State of the State address, then-President Saakashvili detailed recent investments in health care infrastructure, but focus group participants raised concerns about whether the new hospitals would be affordable, and whether insurance coverage in Georgia was adequate. It should be noted as well that the polling not only tracked the public’s feelings or interests on a particular issue, but also allowed NDI to track when these issues were addressed to the public’s satisfaction, improving the availability of this type of impartial analysis. For example, the most important local issue for residents of Tbilisi in 2012 was the city’s linkage of trash and electricity bills. This was consistent through each of the four 2012 polls. As reported to Sida in the 2012 annual report, the UNM-led Tbilisi city government undertook temporary measures to address this concern, including reducing the cost of electricity by the cost of trash for the period of November 2011 to March 2012.* Then, in December 2012, Georgian Dream coalition MP Tina Khidaghel initiated two draft pieces of legislation to permanently separate electricity and trash costs. In another example, in the 2012 pre-election period, MP candidate Tea Tsulukiani requested specific cross-tabulation data for her district of Nadzaladevi, which she then used to address issues of concern in her public outreach to constituents. The figure below shows the most important local issues for citizens of Nadzaladevi, cross-tabulated by age, a specific data set requested by Tsulukiani: 8 wTpilisi garbage fees may be reduced,” Democracy & Freedom Watch, October 2011: hitp://dfwatch.netibilisi- ‘garhage-fees-may-be-reduced-85447,Most important local issues (q4 X Age) Part 1 Nadzaladevi Nadzaladevi 18-95 83655 m56+ nm 70 5s yes so 32 8 53m 5+ 4s 40 Linkingtrash and Costof Transportation Roads electricity ils communal costs services Perception by Stakeholders on Public Opinion Research NDI has also observed that its public opinion research was better understood and accepted by a broad range of stakeholders. The Institute is able to track this through the requests that it receives for additional information about the poll and/or for polling cross-tabulations of polling data. Academies both in Georgia and globally have accurately analyzed and in some cases republished, polling data to add to the scholarship on Georgia’s democratic and electoral development. In addition, the Institute continues to see increased results from the number of academics who also now use NDI public opinion research in journal articles and academic pieces. For example, noted Caucasus expert Thomas de Weal utilized the June survey results in an article on the Camegie Moscow Center’s blog post.” In another example, in late 2013, the Institute received a request from the analytic department of Georgia's Supreme Court requesting information on the job performance of the judiciary over time. The Court was interested in comparing the responses of respondents in the NDI survey to those who responded to their own intemal polling. By continuously requesting this information, the department demonstrated that it understood the comparative value of polling data. '° DeWaal, Thomas, “Bakradze Makes an Election in Georgia,” Eurasia Outlook July 31,2013, camegie.rveuras 52 31Enhanced Media Understanding of Research Tools NDI attempted to promote accurate and informed media coverage of the electoral process through activities under this objective. In a review of survey presentations conducted at the end of 2013, NDI continued to observe an increase in accurate and informed reporting by the rational media, building on the positive results NDI has observed since the beginning of this program. ‘This positive acceptance has also led to a better analysis of the electoral environment in Georgia. As a result of NDI’s activities with the media, an article that appeared in the ‘Messenger newspaper on October 1, 2013, that exemplifies the improved electoral coverage NDI has sought to promote through its assistance. The article carefully laid out NDI polling information for each of the presidential candidates, including the number of voters who indicated that they would vote for a particular candidate, the favorability of each candidate, and explained why there was a possibility of a second round of elections, based on the numbers. The ‘authors of the article (CGS Group) attended NDI media workshops and showed demonstrable improvement in their writing of their articles from the beginning of the project to 2013." ‘Also after the Institute's September 2013 poll, NDI noted the continued in-depth coverage of ‘the research data by the news outlet Tabula, particularly on their news program “Focus.”"? Journalist Irakli Kiknavelidze delivered an in-depth report on this poll, including comparisons ‘with previous data and Tabula’s own graphs. Among the topics discussed was Georgians’ assessment of relations with Russia in light of Russia’s extension of the borders of South Ossetia into undisputed Georgian territory. During this presentation, Kiknavelidze carefully compared the progress of Georgian-Russian relations since the rise of Bidzina Ivanishvili on Georgia’s political scene. He correctly pointed out that while Ivanishvili’s rise initially registered a settling of relations, that fact has not remained consistent over the last few months. He also discussed Ivanishvili’s decision to leave politics and the public’s negative assessment of that decision; the public's support for and understanding of democracy, including their understanding of human rights and the rights of ethnic, religious, and sexual minorities; the top issues for the population; the areas in which the public believes the government has made the ‘most progress, including healthcare and pensions; and issues related to crime. In another example, on September 23, David Paichadze’s radio show hosted lago Kachkachishvili, a sociologist, to talk about NDI’s poll. Issues discussed during this session ‘were citizens’ perceptions of the most important national issues, the level of crime in Georgia, the attitude of citizens’ towards Bidzina Ivanishvili’s decision to leave politics, and the direction of Georgia’s political development. They also discussed specific changes between responses during the 2012 pre-election poll, including the most important issues and respondents’ assessments of their conditions and the condition of their households in 2012 and 2013. {Georgia Elects: A Campaign for the Second Place?” CGS Group, the Messenger, October 1, 2013. Kiknavelidze, Irakli, “Focuse: NDI Survey,” Tabula Television, September 23, 2013, 32Media coverage of the Institute’s polling broadened in 2013, with increased international press coverage. For the June poll, the Institute received press from Eurasianet'’, the Economist’, Kommersant'*, and Vestnik Kavkaza'®. In one notable example from the Economist, the magazine used polling data to discuss whether Georgia was really committed to European values. Using the Institute’s data on the counter-demonstration against sexual minorities, the magazine raised questions about this commitment, in light of the transition from a UNM-led to Georgian Dream-led government and the upcoming presidential elections. The international media’s use of the polling data - particularly an internationally well-respected news media outlet like the Economist - further demonstrates the usefulness of the research and helps to reinforce its value to Georgian political actors. Objective 2: Increased accountability of political party election observers and election officials Result: Political and_electi methodology. tools, and capacity. Intermediate Results: ‘* Targeted political parties and election officials have an increased capacity to objectively monitor and evaluate the performance of their representatives in precinct-level electoral administratic ‘© Targeted political parties have an increased capacity to train, monitor, and evaluate the performance of their election monitors. ‘NDI experienced mixed results with its efforts under this objective. The Institute made every effort to engage individual parties in partisan election observation efforts during the program period. The 2012 joint NDI/ IRI ToTs collaboration represented the largest joint project by the USS. party institutes in Georgia in recent memory, helping to reach a greater numbers of participants and maximizing the expertise available to them. NDI originally planned to train nine under this project, but ultimately trained 13 parties due to demand. The diverse training methodology presented to the trainers allowed them to lean more about how to properly evaluate their election monitors, as well helped them practice training in front of an audience and with feedback from their peers. Parties’ interest in these monitoring activities, however, and conducting them in line with established intemational standards, was difficult to ensure. Parties prioritized their resources and efforts on campaigning at the expense of partisan election observation intended to protect votes. NDI’s efforts did create 2 more sustained capacity within parties; with more experienced tainers available, political parties began their own internal volunteer training initiatives. This "See: Corso, Molly, “Ivanishvili versus the experts,” Eurasianet.org, September 26, 2013, Insp /orwycurasianet ore/node/67550 and Lamsadze, Giorgi “Georgia: The Bloom is off Bidzina’s Popularity, Poll Shows” July 15, 2013, http‘ curasianetore/node/67250. +The Boones (tog) gs ek ee. 2013, 'Kommersant, “Elections in Georgia,” October 21,2013, Panfilova, Viktor, “Second round of Georgian elections,” esti Keviaa, July 17, 2013, 7 7" articles/paliti 33increase in capacity was particularly significant given the emergence of the Georgian Dream coalition in 2012. ‘The databases the Institute developed with local partner GYLA have allowed GYLA to systematically monitor its 750-member network and volunteer election activities, solicit and track feedback and information received from this network. This has improved the organization’s overall monitoring of the performance of its elections volunteers, as demonstrated through feedback the Institute has received from GYLA. Objective 3: Increased transparency and accountability of electoral administration Intermediate Results: * Targeted program partners (ISFED and GYLA) demonstrate the institutional and technical capacity to monitor local implementation of the revised electoral code with regard to the composition, selection, and accountability of local election administration officials ahead of 2010 and 2012 elections. Electoral Code In 2011, ISFED and GYLA supplied recommendations on the electoral code. Among the recommendations that were incorporated into the final law revisions that year were several related to increasing accountability of election officials. Specifically, the election code now includes a mandate that the CEC compile a database of election officials who were accused of violating the election law and who had disciplinary measures taken against them. Additionally, the CEC will be required to design a code of conduct for election administration officials. Finally, the electoral code now specifies that administrative charges against an election official found to have committed an electoral violation should be commensurate with the severity of said violation. Electoral Administration ISFED and GYLA’s monitoring of the electoral administration demonstrated improved capacity, and also led to an improved electoral administration approach to elections. In 2012, the organizations developed a set of recommendations for the election commissions in both their pre-election and post-clection reports. These recommendations included trust-building and improving practices for staffing the election commission. In another example, ISFED continued to identify problems with the electoral administration and publicly disseminated its findings in 2013. Prior to the presidential election, ISFED issued a Public report identifying five cases of political intimidation, three cases of obstructing the election campaign and other cases of physical violence, including assault and abuse. The organization’s recommendations on staff changes at the local level were adopted by the Inter- Agency Task Force on Elections (IATF), although staff turnover at the local level continued.!” ” Beria, Londs “ISFED lists violations Georgia’s election campaign,” Democracy and Freedom Watch, October 34,In 2013, ISFED agreed to integrate the monitoring activities it had been condueting with NDI financial assistance into its other, regular reporting, demonstrating its understanding of the importance of election administration monitoring in the overall electoral monitoring process. GYLA also has demonstrated an improvement in its approach to the use of supporting materials to hold the electoral administration accountable for continued democratic elections in Georgia. For example, GYLA has asked NDI for public opinion research slides on questions related to nongovernmental organizations engaged in elections, as a means of demonstrating that it was one of the foremost election observers in Georgia to prospective donors. GYLA has used this information in presentations to the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy and USAID, elaborating on its professional observation of the 2013 presidential election, also acknowledging its increased capacity building and improved management skills for this election and for future ones. By tracking the monitoring activities of the electoral administration during the interim election periods, both ISFED and GYLA have demonstrated an improved commitment to comprehensive monitoring of Georgia's electoral environment. While electoral officials have not yet determined which of the groups’ recommendations to implement for Georgia’s future elections, electoral reform passed in mid-2013 demonstrates the influence of their recommendations following the 2012 parliamentary elections. Government officials also cite the influence of civil society groups in their move to make electoral changes on the use of administrative resources.'® Objective 4: Improved political participation of women The Institute achieved the above result by ensuring that Georgia’s political parties have committed to the Win with Women Global Action Plan and have formalized or begun to formalize their approaches to gender balance at their internal party management levels. NDI achieved this by ensuring that political parties have strategies in place to increase the number of ‘women candidates on party lists, Consultations with Political Parties and Political Party Gender Assessments ‘After many years working on women’s political participation in Georgia, NDI continued to observe a noticeable shift in the way that Georgian society thinks about gender. This shift was noted in the intemational news media.” On a political level, this, is in part, due to NDI’s engagement with political parties in encouraging them to sign the Win with Women Global Action plan, which 13 political parties in Georgia signed as a result of gender conferences the Institute held in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. 16, 2013, hitp//dfwatch nevisfed-lists-v i -slection-campsign-2129 ** amendments to Election Code Planned,” Civil. ge, July 17, 2013, httpy/civil.ge/ens/article php ?id~26280. * Corso, Molly, “Georgia: Gender Roles Beginning to Blur,” Eurasianet.org, January 6, 2014, p/w eurasianet orginede/67914. 35‘The 2012 parliamentary elections serves as the best test case of the effectiveness of this program. A total of 18 women were elected to the Parliament in 2012, 2 100 percent increase over the nine MPs who were elected in 2008. NDI’s activities helped to create an environment that promoted increased women’s participation and representation in Georgian politics. Overall, six political parties promoted female party list candidates during the 2012 parliamentary election based on their pledges under the WWW initiative, increasing from four parties in the 2008 parliamentary elections. During the 2012 “Win with Women” conference, parties also demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of the challenges that women face in the electoral process, particularly challenges faced by women candidates. For example, participants noted that: © Women face difficulties in trying to secure funding for majoritarian races. Political donors in Georgia are usually male who are hesitant to invest in female candidates. ‘© There is anced to promote new faces in politics and the media can help in this regard. © There is no history in Georgia of gender equality movements and thus a lack of demand for gender equality in society, both politically and economically. ‘© There is a need for change in electoral legislation, as the current system does not favor women’s political participation. In a majoritarian system, women lack the resources to compete, as the party list candidates are usually selected by males. ‘© Few women are decision makers in their parties, which diminishes their political power. ‘This trend continued in 2013; NDI was continuously approached by the leadership of political parties to discuss way to improve their outreach to women, both as candidates and active party members: © In its previous work with the Conservative party, NDI noted that the party was not particularly interested in improving women’s political participation within the party. However, in its consultations during 2013, the Institute noted that the party is undergoing some tangible changes in terms of its leadership's approach to women’s political participation. One week after the NDI consultation, the party institutionalized its women’s organization and officially included the position of the chair of the ‘women’s organization as an ex-officio member of the National Committee at its national convention. © After receiving advice on improving women’s leadership within the party, in July, Georgian Dream included language on the necessity of gender equality in the general provisions of their party charter. While it has not yet established a women’s organization, they have assigned a party leader to address gender issues. © Republicans initially made it clear that they were not in favor of establishing a women’s organization within their party. They argued that women were not discriminated against in the party and had equal opportunities with their male counterparts, including via an informal gender working group established within the party. However, NDI was able to persuade them that the working group could be improved. During consultations, NDI advised an initial strategy of strengthening this working group. As a result of its work 36with the Institute, the party initiated consultations with civil society organizations focused on women’s issues and formed thematic working groups to further explore these issues. © UNM also has been slow to adopt strategies that would increase women’s participation at the party level. However, in late 2013, the party did establish a women’s wing, electing a board and adopting a charter. The Institute provided support to the party in the formation of the women’s wing and reviewed the charter. The party also announced that it would be taking advantage of the voluntary quota established for the 2014 local elections.” ‘The Institute’s work with the political parties on gender led to other opportunities for NDI to assist in the promotion of women’s political participation. For example, the Institute was tasked to undertake a leadership role in a gender task force, made up of representatives of political parties, NGOs, the Parliament, and others interested in increasing women’s roles in politics. In addition, the Institute was approached by the OSCE to assist them in conducting a gender audit of Georgia’s political parties, based on NDI’s close relationship with these parties and the ‘gender strategies produced. Study Visits ‘The 2011 study visit to Sweden had an impact on Georgian participants, particularly the then- chairman of the Gender Equality Council of the Parliament of Georgia, MP Rusudan Kervalishvili. Upon her return to Georgia, and based on consultations she held while in Sweden, Kervalishvili initiated an amendment into the Law on Citizens Political Unions introducing funding incentives for political parties to increase the number of women on the party lists. The amendment, which was passed into law in late 2011, provides up to 10 percent additional state funding for parties that include at least twenty percent women on their party lists. This represented the first time that Georgian law incentivized women’s inclusion on party lists. In 2014, this law was amended to provide financial incentives to parties who place women on sakrebulo (city council) party lists in the upcoming local elections. Leadership Program The Institute observed some success with the women participants in its leadership program. ‘NDI learned that six women from the group of 18 will run for municipal office during the 2014 elections. This group includes three Republicans, two members of Georgian Dream, and possibly one member of either the New Rights party or CDM. These participants were the most interested and benefited the most from message box training session. Several asked NDI to provide them with individual, follow-up consultations, which the Institute conducted in January 2014. The Institute also found that several of the leadership program participants noted that the skills that they have gained during the training sessions have demonstrated small results already. These participants have increased their interest in many of the topics presented in the public ® Georgian political parties fielding a cadre of local election candidates that is at least 30 percent women will be receiving some government campaign financing 37opinion research, including those topics that respondents feel to be the most important national and local issues. At each progressive training session, participants have asked more and more informed questions about the research, and also have requested additional polling slides with gender ot locale breakdown. In addition, participants have indicated that their capacity to speak about issues of citizen concern and persuade an audience has improved. V. Lessons Learned Objective 1: Improve Impartial Electoral Information and Analysis Political debates in Georgia continue to revolve more around polemics than facts and evidence. NDI found that there is litle unbiased information on citizens’ needs and expectations, and a low level of access to the impartial information that is available. The 2012 IREX Media Sustainability Index reported that “partisanship and poor ethical practices pervade mainstream media, while quality news is mainly accessible only to the educated, media-savvy, and urban audiences.” Elections in Georgia have tended to be contests not of substantive ideas, but rather of personalities. Political party campaign platforms and proposed legislation have not necessarily been based on constituent interests or evidence-based ideas as much as whims of party leaders. Without reliable information to focus their efforts, CSOs also have had difficulty advocating effectively on behalf of their constituents’ concerns. During this program, NDI sought to address a deficit of accurate, unbiased political information, including public opinion research and elections information in Georgia. The quality of this information steadily improved; for example, by providing oversampled data from different municipalities throughout the country enabling in-depth insight into municipal level data. This information is particularly relevant as decentralization reforms take hold. The Institute also leveraged its experience to improve certain polling questionnaires, making them more relevant to the current political climate. For example, in conducting focus groups in Georgia's southem regions in February, the Institute determined that women participants had limited understanding of the electoral process. NDI was then able to adjust its June poll to include additional questions con gender to better understand this issue and use data to inform partners. While NDI provided impartial deta through its public opinion research and the elections data Portal, the Institute observed that some continued to view this information through partisan lenses. Given a tendency of parties to leak and misrepresent polling information to the media, earlier in this program, the Institute adjusted its approach to sharing the research at public press conferences. This approach mitigated the issue of deliberate leaks and misrepresentations, although it did not entirely address the problem. Political stakeholders, including the party members, parliamentarians, and others, continue to debate and question the validity of the public opinion research, particularly when the findings are unfavorable to their parties and/or party leaders. As a result, increased education on evidenced-based research and data, including the poll and focus groups, will be a focus of the Institute’s new Sida-funded program. NDI will work with political parties, the media, parliamentarians, civil society organizations and other actors to improve understanding of public opinion research, through trainings and consultations. In 38addition, the Institute will work closely with its research partner to improve its capacity to ‘communicate polling data and results. ‘Objective 2: Increase Accountability of Election Officials and Political Party Election Observers and Officials While there are several parties in Georgia with strong infrastructures, they also have been inconsistent about employing internally democratic practices. During this program, the Institute observed that while parties were eager to participate in election observation training sessions, for example, there was little follow-up from party leaders to ensure effective poll watching. Similarly, NDI found that while parties were willing to participate in consultations and conferences about increasing women’s political participation in Georgia, these discussions have not translated into meaningful action. Parties demonstrated a willingness to implement NDI guidance in other areas, however, namely utilizing polling in their outreach. As noted above, the Institute has achieved some success with this approach, tying party behavior to constituents? concems. As a result, the Institute has determined that it should continue working with parties ‘on issues that they have been slower to address, including improving their ability to understand and address constituents’ needs. ‘Objective 3: Increase Transparency and Accountability of Electoral Administration NDI collaborated with ISFED and GYLA throughout this program. These organizations have progressed significantly in their ability to conduct effective advocacy and political process monitoring activities. However, their influence in the Georgian political system is limited by their inability to reach a wider audience, particularly outside of the capital. For example, the 2012 Freedom House Nations in Transit report found that the influence of civil society on policy formation and implementation remains weak in Georgia. CSOs’ abilities to communicate the results of those activities to the appropriate audiences have not improved to the same degree. Many CSOs in Georgia do not possess the strategic communication skills to effectively present their positions or the results of these activities to the public or the electoral administration, their targeted audiences. They are further limited in their capacity to strategically communicate their organizational goals on behalf of citizens. Under the new Sida-funded program, NDI aims to enhance the political influence of CSOs by improving their strategic communications skills and facilitating strategic partnerships. The Institute will assist long-term CSO partners, including GYLA and ISFED, by helping them improve their messaging to targeted audiences, which would contribute to their overall credibility and support. NDI also will assist them in establishing strategic relationships with decisionmakers and with other like-minded organizations, as a way of building political influence. Objective 4: Improve the Electoral Performance of Women for the 2010 Local and 2012 Parliamentary Elections While women make up more than 50 percent of Georgia's population, they are not comparably represented in Georgian politics. Georgia ranks 105th on the OSCE’s list of women in parliamentary office out of 189 countries; despite advancements between 2009 and 2014, only 3911 percent of Georgia's parliamentarians are women. While polls show that citizens are receptive to voting for women, political parties do not provides women the opportunities to run for office or serve as leaders. Moreover, women often do not have the specialized skills required to advance politically. Again, political parties’ inconsistency in employing internally democratic practices has demonstrated the need for some new approaches in this area in future programming in Georgia. Similar to its experience in training political party members on partisan election observation, NDI found that while parties were willing to participate in consultations and conferences about increasing women’s political participation in Georgia, these discussions have not translated into meaningful action. In its future women’s programming, the Institute will address democratic needs that parties have been slower to address, including those with which their constituents are concemed. As discussed during the Win with Women Conference, there is some popular support among Georgians for an increased role for women in politics. Polling has demonstrated that citizens are ‘open to such developments. Parties must develop the tools to act on this openness. NDI’s activities have achieved some progress in this area. Thirteen political parties have signed the Institute-initiated Win with Women Global Action Plan, which outlines practical recommendations to help political parties broaden their appeal by becoming more inclusive and representative. The Institute also plans to addresses these deficiencies at both the national and local level, as the decentralization reform process continues in Georgia. V. Appendices Appendix I: Press Release for NDI Issues Public Opinion Research, November 2013 Appendix Il: Agenda for Women’s Leadership Program, July 2013 Appendix III: Agenda for Win with Women Conference, December 2013 Appendix IV: Program Activities Description, August 2013 — January 2014APPENDIX I °#NDI NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Teona Kupunia, Tbilisi December 18, 2013 +995577 719134, tkupunia@ndi.org; Kathy Gest, Washington, +202-728-5535, kgest@ndi.org NDI POLL: GEORGIANS SEE THEIR COUNTRY HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND, FOR THE FIRST TIME, A MAJORITY OF RESPONDENTS SAY © THAT GEORGIA IS A DEMOCRACY NOW TBILISI ~ For the first time since the National Democratic Institute (NDI) began polling in Georgia in 2008, a majority of respondents, 54 percent, say that Georgia is a democracy now. ‘A majority of Georgians, 53 percent, also think their country is headed in the right direction and 73 percent say the government is making changes that matter to them. Jobs continue to be the top national issue of concem in Georgia at 62 percent, while the ‘number of people identifying themselves as unemployed has increased by four percent since the September 2013 poll P IN GEORGIA: RESULTS OF A SEP 3 SURVEY). The number of people who identify themselves as unemployed is now at 69 percent. The cost of communal services remains the top local issue at 52 percent. The percentage of respondents who thought the October 2013 presidential election was well- conduced increased from October 2012 by 10 points, from 79 percent to 89 percent. @ __Eighty-ive percent of Georgians support the government's goal of joining the European Union and when asked to choose, Georgians expressed strong support for membership in the European Union as opposed to the Eurasian Union by a margin of 68 to 11 percent. “Georgians strongly support European integration, are optimistic about their democracy, and the direction of their country. While unemployment has increased, Georgians remain strong in their view that the government is making changes that matter to them and cite jobs and the cost of communal services as their top priorities in the lead up to next year's municipal elections,” said NDI Director Luis Navarro. The survey looks at issues of public importance, perceptions of democracy and attitudes toward reforms, as well as various domestic and foreign policy issues. The results reflect data collected from November 13 through November 27 in face-to-face interviews with a nationwide arepresentative sample of Georgian speakers that included 3,916 completed interviews. The survey has an average margin of error of +/-2%. NDI's survey work is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and carried out by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC). -END- NDIis an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government. More information is available at www.ndi.org. 4232NDI NATIONAL APPENDIX II phaioceatic INSTHICTE WE! Leadership Program cE BEN Training Ill - Debate, Public Speaking, and Media relations — 3 essentials of a politician's life. 24-26 July, 2013 Tbilisi, Hotel “Holiday Inn” Wednesday, July 24, 2013 (09:30 - 10:00 ‘+ _ Registration 10:00 10:30 | Welcome and Introduction > Welcome > Review of agenda and expectations for the next two days '* Introductions around the room 10:30-11:00 | Reflections of your work — Kristina and Teona e >» How have you applied what you learned in Training | and lI? > Any real work on issue campaigns? > What has been useful? > What do we want to be sure to spend time on today and tomorrow? 11:00-11:30 | Component I: Concepts of Framing and Message Development ~ Kristina > Difference between theme, slogan and message > Understanding “framing” and why itis important to political communication > Developing values-based messages > 5 Deadly Message Mistakes 11:30-11:45 | Coffee Break 11:45=12:30 | Concepts of Framing and Message Development, continued > Discussion 12:30-18:15 | Message Box Luis > Presentation of message box and how it works e@ > Set up of exercise =14:00 | Lunch 14:00-15:00 | Message Box Group Work and Presentations — Luis 15:00 16:00 | Component 2: Campaign Communication Presentation — Kristina > Your communication strategy and approach as a future candidate 16:00- 165 | Coffee Break 16:15-17:50 | Video & Discussion: Women’s Leadership 17:50 18:00 _ | Recap of the Day and Preview of Tomorrow > What did we learn? > _What are some outstanding issues to spend time on tomorrow?19:00 Dinner Thursday, July 25, 2013 0:00-1:30 | A Global Perspective, Trends in Media Coverage of Women Candidates and Leaders — Kristina > Common experiences from around the world What is sexist coverage and what impact does it have? > New study from Name it, Change it, shows impact of media portrayal of women and how candidates should respond Discussion - practical application to Georgia 1i30-11:45 | Coffee Break 7:45 —13:00 | Component 3: Working with Cameras Luis > Set up, different formats of working with cameras > Camera exercise 13:00-14:00 | Lunch 74:00 15:00 | Camera exercise and recap of experience, continued 15:00~ 16:00 | Component 4: Working with the Media Kristina/Teona } The Georgian media landscape > Editorial vs. news coverage > Creative ways to get your message conveyed >_Tips for working with journalists 1600-1645 | Coffee Break T6:15—17:30 | OPEN SESSION 17:30 18:00 | Recap of the Day and Preview of Tomorrow > What did we learn? > _What are some outstanding issues to spend time on tomorrow? 19:00 Dinner Friday, July 26, 2013 10:00-11:30 | Component 5: Debate Training Facing your opponent on issues > Delivering your message in a timely and effective manner > Debates vs. monologues > Introduction of exercise 14:30-11:45 | Coffee Break11:45-13:00 _] Debate training exercise 13:00- 14:00 | Lunch 14:00 - 15:00 _| Component 6: Presentation of NDV’s latest poll and discussion 15:00 16:00 | Evaluations, closing and recap 45ANNEX IV: NDI-Georgia Activities, July 1, 2013 - January 31, 2014 NDI’s last semi-annual report to Sida covered the period ending June 30, 2013. Therefore, this annex ineludes a more detailed description of activities from July 1, 2013 through the end of this project. Results for this period are included in the body of the final report. Objective 1: Improve Impartial Electoral Information and Analysis of Partners to Analyze El: Its and Utili | Maps In August, NDI worked to improve the district profiles of the data.clectionsportal.ge_portal. istrict i i ss-checked with official Ministry of Regional Development, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Defense records, including: the administrative-territorial divisions of the districts, the size of the territories, information about the population including the total number of the population, division by gender, the type of settlement (urban and rural), and ethnicity. Information was then uploaded to the site in both English and Georgian. ‘On October 2, NDI re-presented the database to the public prior to the 2013 presidential election. The presentation was held to introduce the new functions and features of the portal to media, the representatives of political parties, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations and other interested individuals. Subsequent to this presentation, NDI and Jumpstart also made private presentations to political parties, familiarizing them with the ‘database's content and remind them of its utility for monitoring voter incidents on election day. NDI sent a brief description of dataclectionsportal.ge and a tutorial based on its public presentation to members of parliament (MPs), ministers and governmental agencies such as the CEC and State Audit Office (SAO), and political parties including the Georgian Dream coalition, the United National Movement (UNM), Christian Democratic Movement, and the ‘New Rights Party. In mid-2013, the Institute came to an agreement with its local election partner, the Intemational Society for Free Elections and Democracy (ISFED), to assume management of the elections portal database at the end of this program and ensure its sustainability. ISFED agreed to make the database an integral part of its work, managing content for the upcoming 2014 local ‘elections and linking it to the organization’s website. In addition to becoming fully responsible for the management and maintenance of the database, ISFED has assumed administrative responsibility for the site, including developing new partnerships and fundraising. id ‘Trends and Causes of Voters List In ties In 2013, NDI continued to monitor Georgia’s voters list to ensure that the list retains accurate information on voters, after working with the CEC and the Civil Registry throughout the project to identify and resolve anomalies in the list using specialized software designed by NDI’s partner, the Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC). After exploring the possibility of lsing facial recognition software to continue updating the voters list, as discussed in the 2013 ‘workplan, the Institute decided against pursuing this because it was not able to engage a suitable technical partner to complete the analysis. In addition, the Ministry of Justice made it clear to ‘NDI that it was not interested in utilizing the results of such an analysis‘Tracking Public Confidence in the Electoral Process NDI continued to carry out regular qualitative and quantitative analysis on public concems about Georgia's political process in 2013 and early 2014, and implemented training programs for partners to better analyze and utilize survey results during the reporting period. Conducting Publie Opinion Research Public Opinion Surveys In September, the Institute undertook its third poll of 2013. Pre-election results were collected between August 18 and September 3, 2013, in face-to-face interviews with a nationwide representative sample of 3,838 Georgians, with an average margin of error of #/-2 percent. In this pre-election poll, 39 percent of respondents indicated they would vote for Giorgi Margvelashvili (Georgian Dream) and 18 percent for Davit Bakradze (United National Movement), followed by 7 percent for Nino Burjanadze (Democratic Movement - United Georgia) and 3 percent each for Shalva Natelashvili (Georgian Labour) and Giorgi Targamadze (Christian-Democratic Movement) as president. Combined, 26 percent of respondents answered “don’t know,” “refuse to answer,” or “no candidate.” This percentage was large enough to indicate both the final results of the first round and whether or not there would be a second round election The September poll included information about citizens’ thoughts and concems going into the formal presidential election period. The number of people who thought Georgia was a democracy continued to slowly increase, up from 38 percent in June to 44 percent in September. Seventy-seven percent of respondents anticipated that the presidential election would either be totally or somewhat well conducted. Among the most important national issues, jobs continued to be the top issue of concer in Georgia, with 63 percent of poll respondents ranking it as number one. After the 2013 presidential election, NDI and CRRC conducted a post-election poll. The results reflected data collected between November 13 and November 27, 2013, in face-to-face interviews with a nationwide representative sample of 3,915 Georgians and had an average margin of error of +/-2 percent. For the first time since NDI began polling in Georgia in 2008, a majority of respondents, 54 percent, said that Georgia is a democracy. A majority of Georgians (53 percent) also think their country is headed in the right direction. Seventy-three percent of respondents said that the government is making changes that matter to them, up from 63 percent in the September survey. Eighty-nine percent of Georgians thought the October 2013 presidential election was well- conducted, up from 79 percent of respondents who thought that the October 2012 parliamentary elections were well-conducted in a November 2012 poll. The number of respondents viewing Georgia as moving in the right direction has increased significantly to 53 percent, up from 39 percent in September. Recently elected President Giorgi Margvelashvili tied with Defense Minister Irakli Alasania as the most popular government leader; each had an approval rating of 72 percent. 47‘Sharing the Results of Public Opinion Research ‘NDI conducted presentations of the June poll in July. On July 12, NDI held @ public presentation of the issues portion of the survey results for the media. Twenty-five journalists Attended the presentation from: Maestro, Imedi, Rustavi 2, TV 9, GPB 2, Adjara TV, Kavkasia, GPB 1, Mir, Tabula; Medianews, Accent, News.ge, For.ge, IPN, Expressnews, Info 9, Netgazeti; Tabula, Timer, Liberali; GPB Radio, and Radio Freedom. NDI also conducted an interview on the polling results with radio Voice of America/ Georgia. ‘On July 15, NDI publicized the political portion of its June 2013 poll. A press conference was held in Tbilisi and attended by approximately 30 journalists. Again, all the major news channels (GPB 1, Rustavi 2, Imedi, Maestro, Channel 9, Adjara TV, Tabula TV) covered the press conference and live coverage also was provided by GPB 2. A number of internet media outlets such as Medianews, Pirweli, IPN, GHN, Netgazeti, info and covered different slides of the political presentation, developing new stories on each slide. Radio station coverage included medi, Green Wave, and FM 102.4. NDI also was interviewed by Nino Jhijhilashvili on her talk show on Maestro. ‘Also on July 15, NDI presented the poll to the Georgian Dream coalition. The presentation was attended by the Speaker of the Parliament, David Usupashvili, as well as the leaders of individual Georgian Dream coalition factions and committee chairs. A presentation also was held for UNM on the same day; this presentation was attended by approximately 15 members of the minority party. The Institute discussed individual political ratings, the most important national issues and other political data with both the parties. Throughout the week, NDI continued to hold presentations for stakeholders. On July 16, NDI held presentations for local NGOs, the Christian Democratic Movement party and the CEC. On July 17, the poll was presented to embassies in Tbilisi, including representatives from Estonia, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Switzerland, and the UK. Presentations also were made to representatives from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Union, and the Council of Europe. On July 18, NDI held three more presentations for the European Democrat party, the Georgian Group and Democratic Movement ~ United Georgia party. On September 23, NDI publicized the issue portion of its September 2013 poll; this press conference was attended by 21 journalists. Between September 23 and 25, NDI’s public issues poll was covered in all major Georgian television channels, including GPB 1, Rustavi 2, Imedi, Maestro, TV3, Kavkasia, Rioni TV, Odishi TV, 9th Wave TV, and Adjara TV. Internet coverage included Tabula, Liberali, Netgazeti, Pirweli, Media News, GHN, Presa, and Civil-ge. Brief news coverage appeared in printed media including: Rezonansi, Sakartvelo da Msoflio, Kvela Siakhle, Akhali Taoba, 24 hours, Prime Time, and Alia. ‘NDI held a presentation on political ratings of the September poll on September 26. The press conference was attended by approximately 20 journalists. That day NDI’s poll was covered by all major TV channels - GPB 1, Rustavi 2, Imedi, Tabula TV, Adjara TV, Maestro, TV3. Internet news media coverage included Tabula, Liberali, EPN, Netgazeti, Pirweli, 48Medianews,ge, GHN, Kommersant, Presa, Info 9, and Civil.ge. Media coverage on these results focused mostly on the ratings of presidential candidates; the potential for a second round in the upcoming elections; the ratings of individual public figures; and the ministers’ ratings. Public presentations of the September poll also were made in the following cities/districts where NDI presented specific city or district information: Kutaisi, Zugdidi/Poti, and Batumi. Borjomi TV interviewed NDI for the news program ‘“Tavisufali Mikrofoni”, where the following topics were highlighted: the level of crime, the expectations towards upcoming election and the role of local media. NDI held private presentations for the Georgian Dream coalition, UNM, the Christian- Democratic Movement party and the Democratic Movement - United Georgia party during the week of September 23. The Institute also held presentations for the following embassies: the Brazil, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands and UK. In addition, NDI presented the survey results to the following diplomatic missions: the European Union, the NATO Liaison Office, the Council of Europe, OSCE/ODIHR, and the American Chamber of Commerce. In addition, the survey results were presented to a group of U.S. State Department and U.S. Agency for Intemational Development (USAID) officials in Washington, D.C. Finally, NDI presented the September public opinion research to the following organizations and individuals in Tbilisi: the UN Development Programme, the International Republican Institute (IRI), Public Data on the media coverage of the September poll is provided in the following tables: Frequency of NDI September 2013 Poll_Issues Public 49Frequency of NDISeptember 2013 Poll_lssues Political Part coverage (September 26 -October1) + cee NI 330 Radio On December 18, NDI publicized the issue portion of its November 2013 poll. A press conference was attended by 23 joumalists. From December 18 to 19, NDI’s public issue poll ‘was covered in all the major TV channels, including GPB 1, Rustavi 2, Imedi, Maestro, TV3, Kavkasia, Adjara TV, as well as in radio, newspapers and internet media outlets. The main issues covered in the news included: the most important national issues; the question of whether Georgia is a democracy; the most important reforms already implemented and the ones which ‘are expected to be implemented in the future; the approval or disapproval of Irakli Garibashvili’s candidacy for prime minister; public expectations about possible changes and outcomes associated with Bidzina Ivanishvili and Mikheil Saakashvili leaving office; employment status; the assessment of the conduct of the presidential elections 2013; Georgia's media environment (rate of trust, main sources of information); and the current trends in foreign policy (relations with Russia, participation in the Sochi Olympics, membership in the EU, ‘NATO and Eurasian union). ‘A number of short news coverage reported about different aspect of the presentation in the internet media outlets, including Tabula, Liberali, Netgazeti, Pirweli, Medianews, GHN, Presa and Civil.ge. Several short news reports appeared in print media as well, ineluding in Rezonansi and 24 hours. 50Data on the media coverage of the December poll is provided in the following tables: Frequency of NDI November 2013 Poll - Issues public Presentation coverage (November 18-19) eats. - om Internet media 44 Frequency of NDI November 2013 Poll — Issues Political part coverage (November 20-23) ee ‘aco I 2s ress 2s Internet media 45 NDI held a presentation of the political ratings on December 20, 2013. The political results NDI’s poll was covered by all major TV channels - GPB 1, Rustavi 2, Imedi, Tabula TV. Adjara TV, Maestro, TV3, Kavkasia. Presentation was attended by 21 Joumalists. On November 20, Tabula TV hosted Luis Navarro at news program “Focus” where the main topics of discussion were whether public attitudes are changing or not and what main findings 51ccan be drawn from November 2013 poll results. Enhancing Partner Organizations’ Understanding of the Research Process On September 13, NDI met with representatives from the Media Center, WIC, WPRC and the Women’s Fund to share the results of the gender component of the June poll. The Institute explained the significance of the results and asked the organizations to review the gender component of the poll and consi fing suggestions or recommendations for improving searysn's political participation based on this research at the Win With Women Conference” in December. More information about the Conference is available below, under Objective 4. On January 23, NDI held a planning meeting with CRRC to discuss future cooperation on the public opinion research. CRRC outlined its plan for engaging more comprehensively in the Fissemination of the public opinion research, demonstrating that it had carefully considered its future role in providing political public opinion research to Georgian citizens. Objective 2: Increase Accountability of Election Officials and Political Party Election Observers and Officials ing erfor i ‘Nonpartisan Election Adminis In 2013, NDI continued to find that political parties chose to focus their electoral activities on other priorities as the grant period progressed. In consultation with Sida, NDI decided not to continue implementing partisan election administrator activities and to focus on other political party activities, such as improving women’s participation in the parties. ‘Assisting Political Parties to Train, Monitor, and Evaluate the Performance of Election Observers ‘The Institute reached out to parties to discuss potential election observation activities prior to the October 27, 2013, presidential election. However, parties had minimal interest in conducting election observation activities, and therefore NDI did not hold any consultations. As a result, ‘NDI amended its strategy for the 2013 election cycle to account for party preferences to conduct other activities, including increased consultations with parties on public opinion research and ‘women’s political participation. Developing Organizational Databases for Nongovernmental Organizations In 2012, NDI worked with local partner Jumpstart Georgia to design and launch an organizational database for GYLA.. The database is an internal organizational too! meant to help GYLA track the training, performance, and deployment of its volunteers. GYLA assumed 2 gince 2010, NDI has conducted yearly conferences dedicated to discussing the level of women's participation in lected bodies, exploring the constraints and challenges facing women running for elected office, reviewing the instistional mechanisms that exist for ineresing gender equality and presenting a plan to political parties to help them enhance the role of women in Georgian elections, beginning in 2010 and going beyond. During these Conferences, NDI also succeeded in convincing leaders of 13 political parties to sign the Win with Women Global ‘otion Plan (atps/wwra:ndiorgfiles(Global_Action Plan NDI English pdf), and commit to using this plan as a ‘template for their gender action plans. 52ownership of the complete and functional database in early spring 2013. In late 2013, GYLA continued to work with Jumpstart Georgia, with NDI facilitation and technical assistance, to improve the database’s functionality to meet GYLA’s needs. The Institute planned to assist ISFED in developing a similar organizational. database, However, in 2013, ISFED indicated that it was hesitant to begin the project given the ongoing élections in Georgia. The Institute and ISFED agreed that ISFED’s focus should be on taking over the elections data portal, and therefore technical assistance to ISFED during the second half of 2013 focused on this activity. Objective 3: Increase Transparency and Accountability of Electoral Administration NDI's efforts under Objective 3 were designed to help domestic clection monitors gain the ability to track the actions and appointments of government election administrators, Observing Precinct Election and District Election Commissions In 2012, NDI issued subgrants to ISFED and GYLA to support their efforts to track the appointment of election administrators for the 2012 elections and for GYLA monitor any sanctions against election administrators by official bodies after the elections, ISFED and GYLA met with the CEC to cement cooperation in this effort, collected data about PEC members appointed by political parties, and reviewed the “black list” of PEC members who were temporarily banned from service on account of grave mistakes or incompetence. ISFED and GYLA then conducted a statistically based observation of precincts throughout Georgia in ‘order to assess the qualifications, possible conflicts of interest, and past performance of election ‘administrators and collected information on nonpartisan PEC members appointed to each Precinct. ISFED and GYLA assembled the results of their findings into one unified report based on this research, which includes practical and legislative recommendations for future elections, which was published in late 2013, Monitoring Changes to the Electoral Code As indicated in its 2013 workplan, NDI planned to work with and issue cost extensions for its subgrants to GYLA and ISFED to track local implementation of electoral reforms and legal and administrative actions taken against local election officials in problematic precincts in advance of the presidential election. In the first half of 2013, NDI supported and consulted with GYLA and ISFED as they advocated for legislative and procedural improvements based on the 2012 elections. These consultations included determining both organizations’ priority reform areas, based on their observations of the 2012 and 2013 elections and independent assessments of these elections. As evidenced in its election reports, ISFED’s research during the elections cycle indicating the inclusion of research on the make-up of the electoral administration. For example, in its pre- election report, released on October 26, ISFED and its partners noted that the 2013 amendments made to the Election Code did not change rules for establishing election administrations and 53that the election commissions were established composing of members appointed by only two political parties, the Georgian Dream coalition and UNM. Similarly, ISFED’s final report, released after the presidential election on December 18, included a comprehensive assessment of the electoral administration, including the CEC and the precinct and district electoral ‘commissions. While ISFED assessed the work of the CEC as open, promoting a collaborative environment with local and intemational organizations, and providing easy access to information and decision-making. However, the report also noted that the some of the temporary members of DECs appointed by the CEC and political parties also served in various public agencies, and also that members of the Georgian Dream coalition interfered with the work of DECs.* In September 2013, GYLA issued a report on its monitoring of the environment in the pre- lection process, which covered the period of July through September, 2013. In the report, GYLA included @ report on the composition of the electoral administration. After monitoring all 73 election districts in Georgia, GYLA determined that the database maintained by the CEC on sanctioned persons continues not to be comprehensive; 11 persons who had found guilty for Violations were re-elected or re-appointed during the presidential election period; and positions allocated for professionals in the Precinct Election Commissions (PECs) are sometimes occupied by persons who recently represented different political parties in electoral administrations.”* ‘As a result of this research, GYLA issued the following recommendations as part of its report: ‘the creation of a comprehensive database of sanctioned persons at the CEC; ©. efficient cooperation between elections administrations to ensure the timely exchange of information and accordingly the CEC database should be systematically updated and upgraded; ‘¢ systemic election reform should be implemented that requires the appointment of certified and highly qualified individuals with relevant experience and good reputation in election commissions; and persons who recently represented political parties should not re-appointed based on his/ her professional merits to avoid questioning his! her impartiality. Objective 4: Improve the Electoral Performance of Women for the 2010 Local, 2012 Parliamentary Elections and 2013 Presidential Elections ‘The Institute conducted multiple activities in 2013 aimed at increasing the number of women ‘who participate in the elections as party leaders and candidates. The Institute also continued to support local organizations” efforts to increase women’s political participation in Georgia. Inc the We lidates in the Ele Process Consulting with Political Parties 22 {gFED’s final report on the 2013 presidential election, published December 18, 2013, is available here: up//wwwisfed ge/main/S2S/eney. % GYLA’s final report on the 2013 presidential election, published December 20, 2013, is available here: ‘nupu/avla.ge/eng/news?info=1908.Moren's leadership program. Both participants are planning to run in the municipal elections and found the training session very informative and useful for developing these skills, advocacy and implement policies. It also draws on the methodology for NDI's USAID funded Future Women Leaders program in Georgia, which trains women working in parliament on a variety of professional development skills. Presentations as if on television, and receive feedback on working in front ofa eamera, speaking {or a timed period, and clearly making an argument. NDI also worked with participants on thet debating capacity and presentations on different issues of citizen concern 55sked to provide a summary of their overall campaign approach, the motivations for running, and their qualifications. Participants also were asked to provide a landscape of the whole race, @ potential campaign message, their voter contact strategy, and their anticipated budget. In anticipation of their candidacy during the 2014 local elections, two leadership program participants requested additional assistance with campaign strategizing and building upon Keesone leamed during the leadership program sessions. On September 15, NDI hosted an additional message box training for two women from the Georgian Dream coalition. One participant was the head of the party's local Chugureti Office and the other one was the head of the Didube office. NDI had planned to conduct a final leadership program session prior to the end of this program. However, this activity was delayed until March 2014 (conducted under the new Sida-funded project) in order to train program participants on campaigning closer to the 2014 local elections. Consulting with Political Parties and Political Party Gender Assessments On July 25, NDI held a meeting with the Republican Party to discuss its progress on the party's gender strategy. The meeting was initiated by the party, to follow up on the gender Consultations NDI had conducted earlier in the year. The Republican Party expressed an interest in building upon its strategy by involving local women’s NGOs in their strategy development, ‘Namely, the party has identified the following topics to pursue as a foundation for its broader gender strategy: employment, education, healthcare, family and society. To help develop approaches to these topics with the aim of including these policies in the party's program, the party indicated that it would like assistance from NGOs, with NDI acting as a neutral facilitator. Xs NDI determined that this approach would provide a good follow-up to the gender strategy Sessions, and to capitalize on the party's interest in this effort, the Institute agreed to assist in convening these meetings. On September 16, NDI assisted the Republican Party in convening a meeting with local women’s NGOs to discuss the party approach to gender; extend offers of partnership between the party and the NGOs; receive feedback from NGOs on this approach and on gender; identify possible areas of cooperation; and identify thematic working groups for future collaboration. The meeting was attended by 24 experts and representatives from gender-focused NGOs, including representatives from the Women’s Center, the Women Initiative Support Group, the Women's Information Center, the Gender Equality Network, Gender Justice, the Taso Foundation, Women’s Association “Tankhmoba”, and Women’s Fund Georgia. The party and NGOs formed the following thematic working groups based on this discussion: 1. Education/Awareness; 2. Women's Political Participation; 3. Women and Peacebuilding; 4. Healthcare; and 5. Women's Economic Empowerment. In addition, the NGOs also provided feedback to the party on its draft gender strategy. The Republican Party requested additional assistance from NDI in the future with facilitating the thematic working group meetings. 56Win with Women Conference The third Win with Women Conference was held in Tbilisi on December 5 and included 100 participants Opening speakers included NDI Country Director Luis Navarro, Swedish Ambassador to Georgia Diana Janse; and Manana Kobakhidze, the Deputy Speaker of the Georgian Parliament. Former NDI-Ukraine Country Director and women’s political participation expert Kristina Wilfore served as moderator. After opening remarks, the group participated in several panels, including a discussion of Georgian women’s progress in political participation since the previous conference in 2012. Kristina Wilfore then presented on “Public Perceptions of Women’s Role in Politics and Government in Georgia,” including on the June public opinion research. As discussed above, to Prepare for discussion topics at the conference, the Institute expanded the questionnaire in its June 2013 public opinion poll to include questions on the role of women in Georgian society and in politics. Wilfore discussed the results of the poll in detail, including that there is research data to support the fact that Georgians by and large support increased women’s political Participation in Georgia and that demand is increasing for women candidates in Georgia and Georgians are willing to support political parties that take action to increase women’s representation. ‘The second panel discussion included representatives from the Republican Party and UNM, the Women Community Leaders Network, the Coalition for Women’s Political Engagement and the Gender Equality Network and discussed future women candidates and women’s leadership support groups. The third panel included party leaders and heads of the women departments in the parties, including the Conservative Party, Georgian Dream, the Free Democrats, the Christian Democratic Movement, and the New Rights party. After a short break, the panel then expanded to include perspectives from international organizations, including the Intemational Republican Institute, the Intemational Foundation for Electoral Systems, the UN Development Programme, and the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy. The fourth and final panel included a discussion of local government reform in relation to women's political participation and included input from local gender expert, Tamar Bagratia. Photo 1. 2013 Win With Women Conference Polities Samiskhe-Javakheti Media Center ST‘The Samtskhe-Javakheti Media Center is a nonprofit NGO founded in 2002 that works to strengthen independent journalism and empower civil society through the media. In 2012, the Institute issued a small, three-month subgrant to the Samtskhe-Javakheti Media Center to work with women in the ethnic minority regions of Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo Kartli, empowering them to participate in the electoral process by providing them with increased information about the Georgian political process. NDI agreed to continue this program in 2013, ‘extending it to a nine-month subgrant, covering the period from March through December 2013. ‘The first objective of this subgrant was to solidify the network of 15 women community leaders from five ethnic minority communities in Samtskhe-Javakheti and Kvemo Kartli established in 2012, Between July and September, the network conducted 40 meetings with representatives of local communities in five municipalities, including Mareuli, Akhaltsikhe, Borjomi, ‘Akhalkalaki, and Ninotsminda. On average, there were between eight and 10 participants at each of the meetings, which were usually held in public schools or community centers. Meetings covered broad topics of relevance to women, including women and politics, what prevents women’s participation in the development of small business and violence in families. Beginning in September, the meeting agendas began to focus more and more on the upcoming, presidential election, including women’s engagement in the pre-election period. Between October and December, the network conducted another 40 meetings with representatives of local communities, again in Mameuli, Akhaltsikhe and Adigeni, Borjomi, Akhalkalaki, and Ninotsminda. The Media Center reports that approximately 500 individuals attended these meetings in total. Because these meetings occurred during on the presidential election period, this topic was the main focus of discussion at each of the meetings. At the ‘meetings, the women leaders discussed how women were involved in the elections process, and the level of information they had about the election process. The meetings also occasionally included representatives of the respective presidential candidates; participants were then able to raise issues of concern with these representatives. In addition to the presidential elections, topics of the women leaders’ network meetings included issues related to childcare, including kindergartens, women’s labor migration and trafficking, and women and small business. “The second objective of this subgrant was to educate a broad cross-section of women in these ethnic minority communities about the electoral process. To do this, the Media Center arranged discussion groups and produced curricula to use during these groups. The purpose of these discussion groups was to encourage women to brainstorm how to resolve community problems; stimulate discussions through multimedia; and hear from leaders in the five municipalities. The Media Center organized these electoral process meetings the second half of 2013 to coincide with the presidential election. In July, the Media Center held a training session in Borjomi for members of the women leaders’ network, on the topic of public opinion research and its importance. The training session was conducted by NDI staff and attended by 20 participants. In November, the Media Center held a training session in Borjomi for women network leaders ‘on effective communication and cooperation with the media. NDI conducted the training session and it was attended by 20 participants. The session imparted effective communication 58methods, including formulating effective messages, and recommendations for developing good relations with the media, Participants leamed both about the theory of relations with the media and also participated in practical exercises to improve their skills. During the presidential election period (August to October), 1! television shows were and translated into Armenian and Azerbaijani, and then transmitted to all five local television Stations. In October, five shows were produced on the election, the political situation in Georgia, and women's involvement in these processes. Participants in these programs included representatives of political parties and NGOs, as well as men and women representatives of different communities. The subsequent six talk shows were produced on the topies of women and small business; domestic violence; problems facing children with disabilities; and issues surrounding individuals who are on probation.”* ‘* More information onthe SamtskneJavakheti Media Center and activities ean be found on ther website (uupmediacents.ge”242/regionis_ambebi/lan=ge) and thei Facebook page