On August 5, 2025, the President of Georgia appointed the next elections of a representative body of the municipality – the City Assembly and the Mayor of the self-governing city/self-governing community – for October 4, and accordingly, the pre-election period is now underway.

Considering that the pre-election period has been polarized in previous years, the Public Defender of Georgia and the Central Election Commission, as two independent constitutional institutions, jointly call on political parties, candidates and everyone involved in the pre-election processes to contribute to the formation of an appropriate electoral environment that ensures fair, peaceful and equal elections.

Electoral integrity and a healthy electoral environment are fundamental for the functioning of a democratic society. However, when the election process is accompanied by the use of hate speech, personal attacks against individuals involved in the process, and incitement to discrimination, this directly weakens the electoral environment and harms public trust.

Unfortunately, during the election period, there have been repeated instances of election subjects inciting discrimination against people on various grounds and using hate speech. In recent years, representatives and members of election commissions have also become targets of such attacks. In addition, political debates are in some cases characterized by insulting statements made by participants towards each other. The Public Defender and the Central Election Commission emphasize that such facts are harmful and hinder the establishment of an equal and peaceful electoral environment.

In addition, the smooth conduct of the election processes, along with the formation of high public trust in these processes, is of crucial importance, which in turn is extremely necessary for the democratic development of the country. Considering the large-scale introduction of electronic technologies, as well as the indispensable role of the election administration in general, with the support of all parties, the election administration should be given the opportunity to fully fulfill its duties in a peaceful and hate speech-free environment. It is necessary for the leaders/representatives of political parties, relevant candidates and their supporters, and political officials to demonstrate high political and civic responsibility and contribute to the conduct of a pluralistic election campaign free from violence and hate speech. In order to establish a political culture oriented towards democratic values, it is important that candidates’ election campaigns be directed towards businesslike, election programme-oriented discussions, which will contribute to conducting a competition under fair and equal conditions.

At the same time, the special role of the media in terms of controlling the free and fair conduct of the pre-election campaign and disseminating information is worth noting. It will be important for media representatives to demonstrate high professional standards when covering election campaigns. They should respond appropriately and critically to cases of hate speech

Finally, it is necessary to prevent hate speech and respond adequately to it in order to ensure electoral integrity and maintain a healthy electoral environment. This, in turn, is a guarantee of conducting a fair and constructive political discussion and protecting human rights.