The latest presidential elections were the worst polls ever held after 2012, characterized with an aggressive campaign from the very first day – Irakli Kobakhidze, Chairman of Parliament said during the conference “Georgian Presidential elections 2018: Experience and Future Steps.”

Chairman of Parliament talked about free and fair elections that represent a ‘goal of key importance’ for the Georgian government after 2012. “We have had fundamental progress in this direction. Our objective is to hold peaceful elections that do not only mean absence of physical violence but verbal aggression, too. We still have challenges in that direction,” Kobakhidze said.

Speaking about faults and shortcoming of the 2018 presidential elections, Kobakhidze underlined that one of the main reasons was the polarized environment and holding of presidential elections through the direct rule under the conditions of a parliamentary system.

Chairman of Parliament also said that much work had to be done to change the election environment in the country. According to Kobakhidze, problems still remained especially with respect to the use of administrative resources and excess involvement of agitators in the election campaign.