Through the period of September 16-19, 2019, the Training Center held the Training of Trainers for the Awareness-raising and training project “Courses for Electoral Administrators”. Giorgi Sharabidze, Deputy Chair of the CEC and Natia Zaalishvili, Training Center Director, opened the event. They underscored the importance of the training project designed by the Training Center. The project envisages profile training about polling day procedures and powers of PECs. The above-mentioned initiative is aimed at the development of qualified staffing resources to later support the selection of professional staff by the Election Administration and electoral stakeholders. Dimitri Javakhadze and Giorgi Chikaberidze, CEC members also attended the event.

Trained participants are members of DECs and trainers of the Election Administration. At the next stage, trained 153 trainers will implement the awareness-raising and training project “Courses for Electoral Administrators” in all municipalities of Georgia.

At the end of the meeting, members of DECs were briefed about the guidance according to which representatives of the Election Administration, as part of contribution, will deliver trainings to beneficiary citizens of grant projects of NGOs that have won in the competition announced by the Training Center on June 25, 2019. The above-mentioned cooperation is aimed at raising electoral awareness of citizens and acquainting them with the following topics: guiding principles of democratic electoral process (including the secrecy of vote); voters’ engagement at different stages of the electoral process and the mechanisms for exercising voting rights (including, checking oneself in a voters’ list, using mobile ballot box, taking part in the voting process at a polling station); the functions and role of the Election Administration and other stakeholders for voters’ personal data protection; available channels of communication between the Electoral Administration and citizens; the program also focuses on amending the Election Code and citizens will be briefed about the proportional system and key features.

The implementation of the awareness raising and training project “Courses for Electoral Administrators” and of grant projects directed at the enhancement of voters’ electoral/civic culture is scheduled from September 25, 2019. Detailed schedules will be gradually posted to the Training Center website.