Electoral precincts have been opened, voting has started, said the Spokesperson of the Central Election Commission, Natia Ioseliani, at the first briefing of the October 26, 2024 parliamentary elections.

“Today, Parliamentary Elections of Georgia and Sakrebulo (local council) by-elections of Samtredia and Chokhatauri, and the elections of Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara are being held. Polling stations are opened, and voting is underway.

The election administration is fully prepared to conduct the first large-scale, modernized elections with complete transparency, strict adherence to legislation, and the highest level of professionalism. Please note that nearly 90% of voters will be served through electronic means, while the ballots for the remaining 10% will be digitized after voting concludes.

Today, voters will elect 150 members to the Parliament of Georgia through a proportional representation system. Parliamentary seats will be allocated to political parties that receive at least 5 percent of the valid votes cast. A total of 18 political parties are participating in these parliamentary elections.

5 candidates nominated by 3 electoral subjects are registered for the Samtredia and Chokhatauri By-elections, while 11 electoral subjects are registered by the SEC of Adjara for the elections of Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara.

Total of 3 111 polling stations will serve voters. 3 044 polling stations are open in Georgia, including 13 established for exceptional cases, of these 12 are in penitentiary facilities, and 1 in mental health center. As for polling stations established abroad – 67 polling stations are set up in 53 cities of 42 countries. Elections utilizing electronic technologies will be held at 2 263 electoral precincts in Georgia, in the remaining precincts including abroad, voting will be held applying traditional method.

More than 1700 observers from 76 international organizations, more than 23 000 observers from 111 local organizations will observe the elections that will be covered by more than 2800 representatives from 199 media organizations.

Voting began at 08:00 a.m. We remind you that voting abroad is conducted from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time in each respective country. Voters are required to present a Georgian citizen’s identity card or passport. Voter shall carry the identity or passport of citizen of Georgia.

Regarding the voting procedures, please note that in polling stations where verification and vote-counting machines are used, the ballot paper is different. In this case, instead of circling the party number, the voter should color the circle/the inner space of the circle next to the only chosen party. The vote-counting machine automatically tallies the votes. Once voting is completed and mandatory procedures are finalized, the machine promptly prints a summary of the preliminary voting results, which is then transmitted to the CEC via a tablet. In the remaining election precincts, voting will proceed as usual. However, the ballot papers in these precincts will be scanned and digitized, uploaded to a secure platform, and made available to all interested parties.

It is important to note that the time for publishing preliminary results has been significantly reduced. We expect to inform the public of the first preliminary data within 1 to 2 hours after voting concludes. Additionally, this data will be accessible to anyone interested on the website results.cec.gov.ge.

We would like to clarify once again that electronic devices are not connected to the Internet, eliminating any risk of cyber interference. Additionally, please remember that voting is confidential. Taking photos and videos in the voting booth is strictly prohibited.

The total number of voters for the October 26 elections is 3 508 294; with 3 113 747 participating through electronic technologies. This year, for the first time, 135 922 young people will have the opportunity to vote. Additionally, there are 64 238 voters on the mobile ballot box list, and 95 910 voters are registered on special lists for election precincts established in other countries.

Elections are a common cause, and we encourage voters to be active and participate in the electoral process. We also urge all stakeholders - political parties, local and international non-governmental organizations, and the media - to monitor the elections and help ensure that the election process is conducted peacefully and freely.

Additionally, the election administration urges the observer organizations to observe the legislation, not interfere with the functions and activities of the commissions, and promote the conduct of electoral processes in a peaceful and professional environment. EA of Georgia will exercise its functions as per the legislation and instantly apply the legal mechanisms provided by the law in case of interfering or hindering its activities”, - said Natia Ioseliani.