USAID to Announce New Partnership to Support Electoral and Political Processes

At an event titled “Countdown to 2020: Empowered Citizens for Responsive Politics,” scheduled at Sheraton Grand Tbilisi Metechi Palace, USAID will publicly announce its new, four-year, $14 million Elections and Political Processes program. In partnership with nine international and Georgian civil society organizations (CSOs), the new program will support more responsive and citizen-centered political processes. It will be the U.S. Government’s primary electoral assistance initiative for Georgia’s 2020 and 2021 electoral cycles and beyond.

The new program will be implemented by nine partner CSOs. These include three international organizations – the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES); the International Republican Institute (IRI); and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) – as well as six Georgian CSOs: the Georgian Institute of Politics (GIP); the Eastern European Centre for Multiparty Democracy (EECMD); the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA); the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED); the Public Movement Multi-National Georgia (PMMG); and Transparency International Georgia (TI). The organizations will carry out various activities to support greater civic engagement and strengthened oversight over political institutions.  

USAID, as well as representatives of each partner organization, will participate in the program launch. The event will include remarks from U.S. and Georgian government officials as well as two-panel discussions devoted to electoral assistance under Georgia’s new proportional system and the role of watchdog organizations in Georgia’s electoral and political processes.