60 Precinct Election Commissions (PEC) are opened abroad to serve voters during the October 26, 2024 Parliamentary Elections of Georgia.

Though some stakeholders actively made attempts to shift the issue of establishing PECs abroad from a legal matter to a political one in an effort to mislead the public, Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia has established the PECs for the Parliamentary Elections in the 42 foreign countries based on the official data received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Georgia, as provided by the applicable law.

Notably more PECs will be set up abroad for the October 26, 2024 Parliamentary Elections than were established for the 2020 Parliamentary Elections. Furthermore, PECs will be opened in the foreign countries where none were present during the previous Parliamentary Elections or any other elections. These countries include the UAE, Finland, Korea, Japan, Australia.

We would like to remind the public that the PECs are being established abroad for no less than 50 and no more than 3 000 voters who are on the consular registry, as provided by the applicable law. Currently, Georgia’s legislation does not outline any regulations in regard to the electoral participation of citizens of Georgia living abroad. In particular, establishment of a PEC in a foreign country based on the submitted letters from the citizens of Georgia living abroad to the Election Administration (EA) of Georgia is not provided by the legislation. Therefore, the EA of Georgia strongly disapproves of using this issue as a basis for manipulations and attempts to form the wrong perceptions among the public.

Electoral participation of the citizens of Georgia living abroad as well as providing them with services on an equal basis with other voters stand among the key priorities of the EA of Georgia. It is of utmost importance for us to provide the citizens of Georgia living abroad with accurate information. For this reason, we would like to remind them of the legal provisions dealing with taking part in elections abroad.

For participation in elections, a voter who lives abroad, shall be on the consular registry of Georgia or shall be registered abroad as per the Georgia’s applicable legislation. In case the voter is not on the consular registry, or is not registered abroad, he/she has an opportunity to complete the registration procedures from the day of establishing PECs abroad to no later than October 7, at the diplomatic representation of Georgia, a consular institution, or a relevant PEC established abroad.

We would like to emphasize that the citizens of Georgia living abroad will be eligible to vote in the October 26, 2024 Parliamentary Elections of Georgia once they complete the aforementioned procedures.

Detailed information regarding the established PECs abroad and their locations is available on the CEC Official Website. We would like to urge the citizens to timely complete the relevant procedures. Furthermore, we would like to call upon the stakeholders to refrain from misleading the voters for their political gains, and foster a healthy electoral environment. Elections are a common cause and conducting the electoral process as per the legislation is a shared responsibility for each stakeholder along with the Election Administration of Georgia.