The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reports that polling stations for Georgian emigrants will be opened in Israel despite the tense political situation and the possibility of military escalation there, while it refuses to open any polling stations in Ukraine due to the war.
“Despite the escalation, the current situation provides an opportunity to hold elections, including ensuring the technical and logistical issues related to the elections, which was also confirmed by the Israeli side. Of course, if the level of security in the country changes on the day of the parliamentary elections, a corresponding decision will be made as a result of consultations with the Israeli side,” the MFA told Civil.ge.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) reported on September 26 that the October elections will be held outside Georgia in 42 countries in 60 electoral precincts. According to the CEC, the decision was made on the basis of official data provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the number of registered voters abroad, and despite strong pressure from opposition parties and CSOs to open more electoral districts to accommodate what are estimated to be close to one million Georgian expatriates.
The decision to open a limited number of precincts abroad has been strongly criticized by Georgian emigrants, civil society, political parties and the President of Georgia herself. Three appeals against the CEC’s decision were filed with the Tbilisi City Court, but all of them were declared inadmissible on September 30.
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- 20/12/2023 – CEC Reacts to “Ballot box in your city” Campaign
- 28/11/2023 – Politicians Want to Bring More Georgians Abroad to Ballot Boxes in 2024