In Georgia, communication between elected officials and their constituents is often weak. But recent reforms by the government may offer new opportunities for interaction between leaders and the public.

In an NDI poll last month, 49 percent of those surveyed said the government is not pursuing policies that matter to them, compared to 44 percent who believe it is.

“Women’s greater participation in politics is an indispensable condition for a country’s effective, democratic and stable development,” said Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili as he opened NDI’s Win with Women conference in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi.

The December 2014 conference brought together Georgian political parties, government institutions and citizen groups to identify ways for women to get more involved in politics, particularly by pushing for mandatory gender quotas for the national parliament.

Maka Meshveliani, NDI’s 2015 Andi Parhamovich Fellow, came to Washington, D.C., with a mission.

“Helping more women get elected in Georgia are both personal and professional passions of mine that luckily coincide,” said Meshveliani, a senior program officer in NDI’s Georgia office.  

She sat down for an interview in which she describes herself as “invested” in championing women in politics.