UN agencies to help monitor Georgian elections

As Georgia prepares to elect a new leader on Sunday after widespread turmoil forced the resignation of President Eduard Shevardnadze last month, United Nations agencies have joined other international organizations to help ensure a free and fair presidential ballot.

The UN Department of Political Affairs, the Development Programme (UNDP) country offices and the UN Volunteers (UNV) programme have teamed up with the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in the operation.

UNV deployed six volunteers in the week before Christmas in response to a request from the UNDP country office in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, to provide technical assistance in key areas such as voter education and registration and support to media centres, as well as electoral monitoring and observation.

On very short notice, UN Volunteers were recruited from Romania, Burundi, Ghana, Burma, the Philippines and New Zealand.

"We had to leave our homes and families in a big rush with Christmas and New Year celebrations waiting at the door,” said Caius Suveti, a UNV administration officer in Tbilisi.

The turmoil leading to Mr. Shevardnadze’s resignation arose from protests of parliamentary elections in November which the Vienna-based OSCE declared "seriously flawed."