Georgia’s October 26, 2024 Parliamentary Election Live Blog

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Two weeks remain before the crucial parliamentary elections in Georgia on October 26. The eagerly awaited elections are being held at a time when Georgian society is at a crossroads between the EU and Russia, with most of the society aspiring to the constitutional objective of achieving Euro-Atlantic integration, but weakened by Russian influence not only from the outside but also from the inside – coming from the ruling power.

While these elections are important in meaning, they are also unique in several other aspects. These will be the first fully-proportional elections in Georgia, as well as the first electronic elections, with about 90% of voters casting their ballots through electronic machines installed at polling stations. The fact that these are the first proportional elections, with a 5% threshold that parties must pass to fill 150 seats of the Parliament, has prompted parties to form coalitions, and the main four contenders to pass the electoral threshold- the three most prominent opposition coalitions, as well as the For Georgia party- have a signed up to the President’s Georgian Charter (Read more about the odds and the context of the elections Here).

The main contenders that have the best chance of passing the threshold among the 19 registered parties, are (more on that Here):

(41) Georgian Dream, current ruling party united with its spinoff political movement People’s Power;
(5) Unity – to Save Georgia, which unites the former ruling United National Movement, plus Strategy Agmashenebeli and various old and new faces;
(4) Coalition for Change, another union of former UNM faces brings together Ahali led by Nika Gvaramia and Nika Melia, Girchi – More Freedom led by Zura Japaridze, and Droa led by Elene Khoshtaria;
(9) Strong Georgia, an alliance positioning itself as equidistant from both UNM and GD, is led by Lelo for Georgia and includes For People led by Anna Dolidze, Citizens led by Aleko Elisashvili, and Freedom Square led by Levan Tsutskiridze; and
(25) For Georgia, led by the former GD Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia – another self-positioned “neither UNM nor GD” force, uniting primarily former government officials and MPs who had deserted the Georgian Dream.

The purpose of this live blog, which we are launching with just over two weeks to go and which will replace our regular Election Beat, is to keep you up to date with all the events surrounding the upcoming elections:

ALL TIMES ARE LOCAL

Friday, October 11

15:00 – Savanta Public Opinion Poll Results

Savanta, a British company, released the results of a public opinion poll commissioned by the Media Freedom Fund for Mtavari TV. The survey polled 1,561 randomly selected eligible voters across Georgia, excluding the occupied territories. The margin of error is ±2.48%, with a confidence level of 95%. To the question on which party people would vote if elections were conducted tomorrow, people answered:

Georgian Dream – People’s Power – 36%;
Coalition for Change – 18%;
Unity – National Movement – 14%;
Gakharia – For Georgia – 10%;
Strong Georgia – 8%;
Girchi – 3%;
Georgia’s Patriots Alliance – 3%;
Georgian Labor Party – 2%;
Others – 6%.

13:28 – CEC Decides to Open 7 Additional Precincts

The Central Election Commission made the decision to open 7 additional precincts to accommodate the additional voters registered abroad. The cities were these precincts will be opened are: New York, Berlin, Barcelona, Rome, Athens, Thessaloniki, and Paris. More precincts could also be opened based on the updated data the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide to CEC after all the requests are fully analyzed.

Thursday, October 10

20:50 – CEC: 95,834 Emigrants Will Vote in October 26 Elections

The Central Election Commission reported that according to the data received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the number of voters with the right to vote abroad is currently 95,834. Previously, the CEC had decided to open 60 precincts in 42 countries, which would accommodate 65,508 expatriates, but now there is a need to open 7 additional precincts in these countries for the additional 30,326 expatriates, taking into account that this number may increase further as the Ministry continues to process the applications received.

This issue will be discussed at the upcoming CEC meeting, along with the issue of not opening a precinct in Israel due to the tense military and political situation there. It’s worth noting that the CEC has already announced that a precinct in Ukraine will not be opened for the same reason.

15:00 – ComCom Allegedly Restricts Gakharia For Georgia’s Free Political Ad Rights

Ex-Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia stated during a briefing that the Communications Commission is restricting his political parties right to have a free political advertisement air on TV channels. According to the regulations, the political party can have a free advertisement on TV if it received at least 4% support in 5 public opinion polls. The Public Broadcaster of Georgia decided to grant the “For Georgia” party the status of a “qualified subject” on the basis of polls conducted by Edison Research on behalf of the opposition-leaning Formula TV. ComCom fined the Public Broadcaster for this decision and asked Formula TV to provide the documentation used by Edison Research to verify the results.

“I want to address Kakha Bekauri personally, I understand very well that slavery is a very easy and quick way to get rich, but the National Communications Regulatory Commission is an independent agency that should serve the citizens of Georgia, especially in the pre-election period, and do everything to ensure that citizens have an opportunity to make an informed choice and I, Giorgi Gakharia want to warn him that the responsibility will be personalized and no one can escape this responsibility,” emphasized Gakharia.

Background for earlier developments: