On August 21, 2024, the director of the Training Centre Natia Zaalishvili met with the head of the long-term observation mission for 2024 Parliamentary Elections of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), Natasha Rothchild.

The subject of discussion of the meeting was the projects developed by the Training Centre within the preparatory phase for the elections, the purpose of which is related to the institutional strengthening of Election Administration, the raising of civil election awareness and the support of the inclusive election environment.

The director of the Training Centre introduced to the head of the mission in detail the large-scale project of certification exams carried out in accordance with the electoral reform, which responds to the task of staffing the Election Administration, including Precinct Election Commissions (PEC), with qualified head officials and members.

In addition, Natia Zaalishvili made an important emphasis on the professional training programs ongoing and already implemented for District/Precinct Election Commissions by the Training Centre, which responds to the recommendations reflected in the reports of monitoring organizations, provides for in-depth informing of Election Administrators about the novelties of the polling process using election technologies, and serves to provide qualified service to voters.

An important issue of the meeting also was informational-educational resources and projects developed in the direction of supporting an inclusive election environment. In this regard, the practices and standards used by the Training Centre and the Election Administration were discussed which aims to promote the involvement of youth, ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups in the election process.

The director of the Training Centre focused on the availability of information space. She spoke about the importance of promoting the development of the electoral capabilities of the parties involved in the elections and introduced the participants of the meeting to informational and educational programs developed in cooperation with the CEC and the Training Centre, taking into account the role and mandate of the parties involved in the election process, which, among others, are intended for local monitoring organizations, representatives of electoral subjects, potential female candidates, media outlets, penitentiary system and police officers.

The National Democratic Institute started a long-term observation mission for the Parliamentary Elections scheduled for October 26, 2024 in July.