The Democracy Research Institute has been monitoring political rallies, assemblies and demonstrations organized by political parties and civil movements since September 1.

In light of the upcoming parliamentary elections and highly polarized political environment, when the authorities may be tempted to take advantage of the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, objective observation of pre-election rallies is of particular importance.

The DRI observers will monitor all rallies in Tbilisi, Mtskheta and Rustavi during the pre-election and post-election periods. The observers will be guided by the OSCE methodology, which will enable us to accurately and uniformly report the observance of legal requirements during protests and demonstrations, to reveal violations and the persons responsible for the violations.

By monitoring rallies, the Democracy Research Institute aims to:

Check the legality of the restrictions imposed on freedom of assembly and freedom of expression on the pretext of the pandemic; check the organizers/demonstrators’ compliance with legal requirements; make analysis/legal assessment of the violations identified at rallies; establish the compliance of actions of law enforcement agencies with international standards; provide objective information to the public about the monitoring results.

The Democracy Research Institute calls on all stakeholders, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs, local self-governments, the media, NGOs, political parties and civil movements to cooperate.