#Parlamentswahl. #Georgien vor unruhigen Tagen. Von Silvia Stöber @tavisupleba via @tagesschau https://t.co/Gd4uya1sSJ
— Notes from Georgia/South Caucasus (Hälbig, Ralph) (@SouthCaucasus) October 26, 2024
Day: October 26, 2024
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News – NEWS.am
Electronic voting is being used for the first time in Georgia’s parliamentary elections on October 26. The polls in the Caucasus country are being closely watched after the ruling Georgian Dream party faced protests over its law on “foreign influence,” seeking to tighten control over civil society and the media.
776,726 persons, accounting for 22.2% of the total number of registered voters, cast a ballot in the parliamentary elections by 12:00, four hours after the polling stations were opened, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).
The turnout rate is 2.81 percentage points higher than that of 2020, but is lower than the 25.88% reported at 12:00 in 2012, the landmark vote that brought the Georgian Dream to power.
In the 2020 parliamentary elections, the 12:00 voter turnout stood at 19.41%, with 681,583 citizens casting a ballot, while the final turnout amounted to 56.11%, with 1,970,540 eligible voters participating in the polls.
3,508,294 Georgians are eligible to vote in today’s crucial parliamentary elections at 3,031 polling stations. Polls close at 8 p.m. and preliminary official results of the largely electronic vote will be available in the next few hours. The CEC plans to announce the final results in the morning of October 27, after all ballots have been manually re-counted.
Follow our Election Live Blog for more updates on the October 26, 2024, parliamentary elections.
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“United Ossetia” returns to parliament
For nearly six months, the opposition party “United Ossetia,” which won parliamentary elections in South Ossetia in June 2024, boycotted parliament, claiming it was denied a majority due to election fraud. However, its members have now taken their seats.
Until 2022, “United Ossetia” was in power until its then-leader Anatoly Bibilov lost the presidential election to the current head of South Ossetia, Alan Gagloev, resulting in a government change.
Today, “United Ossetia” stands as the only opposition party in South Ossetia with visible authority, garnering over 35 percent of the vote despite numerous challenges during the elections.
- A criminal case has been opened in South Ossetia regarding election result falsification. But the opposition remains dissatisfied.
- The opposition party in South Ossetia refuses to enter the new parliament.
- Disappearing ink and suppressed results: How the parliamentary elections unfolded in South Ossetia.
The return of “United Ossetia” was motivated by the need to “protect the interests of our voters in this challenging time for the republic,” stated party chairman and parliament member Atsamaz Bibilov during a parliamentary session.
“Every day, 10 to 15 people come to our headquarters asking us to return to parliament. It would be wrong not to defend the interests of those who voted for us,” he asserted.
Bibilov reminded that he and his colleagues had refused to participate in the work of the eighth parliamentary convocation until legal proceedings were resolved. However, the Supreme Court has delayed its decisions, and Bibilov doubts the impartiality of the judiciary, believing it is under the control of the president and his party, “Nykhas.”
“United Ossetia” claims it was denied several deserved mandates while the presidential party “Nykhas” received excess votes. The party has taken legal action against the Central Election Commission and stated that it would not enter parliament until justice is restored.
“United Ossetia” claims widespread fraud on election day, citing use of disappearing ink pens at polling stations
On June 18, the party filed lawsuits with the court and the General Prosecutor’s Office regarding three instances of violations.
Following a preliminary investigation, the General Prosecutor’s Office opened a criminal case on August 6 for “falsifying election results by tampering with ballots, rendering it impossible to determine the voters’ will.”
On August 12, “United Ossetia” submitted another lawsuit to the Supreme Court, alleging “mass violations of electoral rights and the right to express one’s will” during the elections.
On August 14, the General Prosecutor’s Office responded to the party, declining to hold Central Election Commission officials accountable.
The prosecutor’s office confirmed incidents of fraud at two polling stations, specifically the replacement of standard pen ink cartridges with those containing disappearing ink.
“As a result of the criminal actions, 695 ballots were deemed invalid due to the ink marks disappearing from the voting squares,” stated the prosecutor’s conclusion.
However, the prosecutor’s office identified the ruling party “Nykhas” as the aggrieved party, claiming it was the beneficiary of the majority of the spoiled ballots.
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“United Ossetia” returns to parliament
#Armenien und #Aserbaidschan sprechen über einen Friedensvertrag, bauen aber ihre Militärstellungen aus. Unterwegs mit der EU-Mission, die dazwischen patroulliert. via @faznet https://t.co/eTLxt6bKwt
— Notes from Georgia/South Caucasus (Hälbig, Ralph) (@SouthCaucasus) October 26, 2024
