The 2nd Round of the 2018 Presidential Elections: Election Day Observation Results by 10:00

By 10:00, the voting process is mostly calm. However, by now, important tendencies were revealed, relating to vote secrecy and control over voters’ will, specifically:

By now, GYLA observers revealed 7 facts of violation of vote secrecy (5 in Kakheti, 2 in Akhalkalaki), when the voters leaving the voting booth showed their ballots to various organization observers and commission members.

- Akhalkalaki, precinct #1 – two voters leaving the booth have showed the open ballot and the circled choice on it;

- Akhmeta, precinct #4 – voter has shown the ballot to the observer organization – “Advocates and Lawyers’ Observatory”

- Akhmeta, precinct #12 -  two voters have shown their choice on the ballot to the precinct election commission (ballot box superviser);

- Gurjaani, precinct #19 – two voters have shown their choice to the observer of the “Union 21^st century”.

It is notable that according to the Central Election Commission (CEC), the observer organization “Advocates and Lawyers’ Observatory” has 2’926 observers registered at the CEC, while the “Union 21^st Century” – has 3’174 observers.

Yesterday, on November 27, GYLA revealed that in Gurjaani district, voters were instructed to carry ballots from the voting booth to the ballot box in an open (unfolded) way, so that specific persons could have seen their choice.

Control over voters will at the adjacent territory to the polling station

Polling stations #79, #80 and #81 of Gldani district are located in one building, in the entrance hall of which the representatives of Salome Zurabishvili are mobilized. They have a voters’ list with photos. At the indicated polling station, the voters first go to them and afterwards they enter the polling station. Those persons are using one of the rooms in the same building as a work space. Similar voter-count is carried out in the precincts #37, #38 and #40 of the Nadzaladevi district.

Procedural violations, revealed by now:

Mobile ballot box list

In the precinct #43 of Gardabani district, at 07:40 in the morning the list of mobile ballot box was being created, where they were adding personal numbers of voters by hand. After GYLA’s observer has pointed out the violation, the commission members started writing an explanatory statement.

In this precinct, the observer of the organization “Advocates and Lawyers’ Observatory” – Jaba Abramishvili is engaged in the process of voter mobilizing.

Late opening of the polling station

Precinct #69 of Akhalkalaki district was opened late, because only 4 commission members showed up at 07:00. Polling station was opened at 07:50.

Violation of casting of lots

In the precinct #63 of Akhalkalaki precinct, the casting of lots for all functions was held simultaneously. After GYLA’s observer pointed out the violation, the casting of lots was held repeatedly and the violation was resolved.

In the precincts #13 of Batumi district and #3 and #31 of Kobuleti districts, the commission members from the United National Movement have refused to participate in the casting of lots for the function of the mobile ballot box superviser. 

Interference in the observer work  

Despite CEC warning the district election commissions to avoid interference in the observers’ work in relation to observer certificates, GYLA’s observers were requested new certificates and were not allowed to enter the precincts #11 of Krtsanisi, #2, #12, #16 and #63 of Akhalkalaki and #6 of Akhmeta districts. Later on, as a result of communicating the problem with the CEC, GYLA observers were allowed to enter the polling stations.

The observer organizations and their observers, registered in the CEC for the first round of elections, had their observer registration extended (for the term of litigation period) and it was not necessary to have new certificates specifically for the second round.

By this time, GYLA observers have submitted total 6 complaints: 3 complaints at the precinct level, 3 – at the district level, also 3 remarks were made in the logbooks.

GYLA Observation Mission on the Election Day

On November 28/2018, Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) is observing the Second Round of Presidential Elections in Tbilisi and 9 regions of Georgia – Kakheti, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Kvemo Kartli, Shida Kartli, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Guria, Imereti and Adjara (through 300 observers).

Static observers are deployed throughout Georgia in 170 polling stations. Furthermore, through 57 mobile groups and 46 district observers, we are observing problematic polling stations and their adjacent territory in 28 electoral districts.

Based on GYLA’s observation experience, we will pay special attention to the following:

- Polling stations, revealed to be problematic during the previous elections (those polling stations were identified through GYLA’s observation during the previous elections);

- The districts, where ethnic minorities and Internally Displaced Persons are densely settled;

- The developments around the polling stations and the actions of law-enforcements (enforcement of the decree of the Minister of Internal Affairs);

- Inclusiveness of the electoral environment – among others, towards persons with disability, ethnic minorities, and realization of their political-electoral rights. GYLA also prioritizes the research of women’s electoral engagement.

On the Election Day, GYLA will operate a special hotline (032 2 18 26 30), through which citizens will have possibility to receive consultations regarding the voting procedures. GYLA will also consult journalists and media organizations on electoral procedures, Election Day violations and methods to respond to them – they will also have a possibility to inform us of the violations they reveal on the election day.

On the Election Day, GYLA’s electoral-analytical database will gather information in real time and analyze it – through the information, uploaded by observers and analysts throughout entire Georgia.

GYLA will hold three more Press Conferences throughout the day in NGO Media Center (address - Shalva Dadiani #2/1). Press Conferences will be held on November 28 on following times: 14:00, 18:00, and 21:00. On November 29, GYLA will hold the Election Day evaluation Press Conference at 12:00.

The observation mission for the presidential elections was made possible through the financial support of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), US Agency for International Development (USAID), Norwegian Embassy in Baku, British Embassy in Tbilisi, National Democratic Institute (NDI), and Open Society Georgia Foundations (OSGF). The opinions expressed in this statement belong to GYLA and might not reflect the views of the donor organizations.