TBILISI – The National Democratic Institute (NDI) announced that it is fielding a pre-election assessment delegation that arrived in Tbilisi today. The mission will assess electoral processes surrounding Georgia's Oct. 27 presidential election.

Members include Robin Carnahan, former secretary of state of Missouri; Per Eklund, former ambassador and head of the European Union delegation to Georgia and currently a senior fellow at the Institute for Security and Development Studies in Stockholm; Christine Todd Whitman, former governor of New Jersey and former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; Damon Wilson, executive vice president of the Atlantic Council; Kenneth Wollack, president of NDI; Laura Jewett, NDI regional director for Eurasia; and Luis Navarro, NDI country director in Georgia.

The delegation will assess electoral preparedness, review the broader political environment, and examine factors that could affect the integrity of the electoral process. It will meet with government officials, election administrators, presidential candidates, political party leaders, and representatives of civil society and the international community.

The delegation will release a report highlighting its findings at the conclusion of the mission at a press conference on Sept. 6. The delegation will have no comment prior to the release of its report.

NDI appreciates the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which is funding the work of this delegation.

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