Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association monitored the By-Elections of the Parliament of Georgia held under the majoritarian system in Vani and Khoni on 28 April 2018.
The polling process took place in a mostly peaceful environment, violent incidents did not occur. An incident occurred near Khoni polling station no.5, as supporters of the European Georgia and the Georgian Dream clashed. Major violations were found in the process of entering voters into the mobile ballot box list. By the decision made by Vani DEC no.53 on 26 April 2018, in 25 out of 31 polling stations within Vani Electoral District, about 300 additional voters were entered into the mobile ballot box lists, which is more than 3% of registered voters in the polling stations concerned. Entering additional voters into the mobile ballot box list in 25 out of 31 electoral precincts was no longer an exception, which raises suspicions about mobilization of votes through mobile ballot boxes.
The above incidents suggest that certain legislative changes are necessary.
Based on interviews with PEC members it was found that legal regulations for entering voters into the mobile ballot box list were possibly violated. In addition, incidents that occurred at the polling stations no.21 and no.23 of Vani may contain signs of a criminal offence. Further, it is possible that similar facts also occurred in other polling stations.
In individual cases, observers of GYLA identified possible violations that were eliminated after issuance of verbal warnings. In such cases observers no longer filed complaints.
We still detected presence of individuals near polling stations, who were registering voters as they arrived to polls. This amounts to indirect control over expression of voter’s will, which is a problem. These facts indicate that the need to create a regulatory framework for this issue persists, which in turn requires defining the notion of a territory outside polling station in the Election Code.
Observers of GYLA found a number of cases involving presence of representatives of central and local authorities outside polling stations.
Some procedural violations:
- Presence of unauthorized individuals at poling stations – 4 cases (polling stations no.6 and no.9 of Vani, polling station no.26 of Khoni).
- Improper performance of official duties by election commission members:
On the Polling Day, PEC members appointed by the United National Movement did not appear at their respective polling stations. At Vani DEC no.53, a member of the district electoral commission appointed by the European Georgia did not appear.
Information about the Monitoring Mission
Nearly 20 observers of GYLA monitored the by-elections of the Parliament of Georgia in Vani and Khoni through static and mobile groups. In consideration of GYLA’s monitoring experience, particular attention was paid to polling stations that proved to be problematic during previous elections. GYLA continues monitoring the post-election period and it will publish additional information about the monitoring results in the near future.
Since the day it was founded in 1994, GYLA has been actively monitoring elections of legislative and executive authorities and local self-government, in an attempt to promote conduct of elections in a peaceful and fair environment and unwavering abidance by Georgian legislation during electoral processes.
