Election Day: Observation Results by 21:00

GYLA continues the election day observation. Polling stations were closed at 20:00 and the vote count procedures started. By 21:00, 9 complaints were lodged to the polling stations, 10 – to the district election commissions and 21 remarks were lodged to the logbooks.

From 18:00 to 21:00, GYLA’s observers have revealed the following violations:

Failure to properly perform the functions of an electoral commission member:

- At the polling station #23 of the Borjomi district, the number of issued ballots exceeded the number of signatures (2 extra ballots issued). According to the commission members, they forgot to make signatures due to being tired (similar cases were revealed in the morning, at the polling stations #15 and 19 of the Borjomi district);

- At the polling station #42 of the Ozurgeti district, the number of issued ballots exceeded the number of signatures in the voters’ list (two extra ballots);

- At the polling station #42 of the Ozurgeti district, the queue regulator did not check the identity documentation of the visiting voters. At the same polling station, the registering commission member has found out that the ID of the voter was invalidated. Therefore, the voter did not participate in the elections;

- At the polling station #28 of the Ozurgeti district, the precinct election commission member was going to issue the ballot to the voter, whose ID card was invalidated. Following GYLA’s remark, the voter did not participate in the elections with the invalidated ID card;

- At the polling station #4 of the Ozurgeti district, the voter, indicated in the mobile ballot box list, voted at the primary polling station.

Control over voters’ will:

- Voters were being transported by mini-bus taxis to the polling station #3 of the Borjomi district; also, unidenified individuals were standing outside the polling station and counting the visiting voters;

- Outside the polling stations #17 and #20, unidentified individuals were present, counting the visiting voters.

On November 12, 2017, GYLA observes the second round of the October 21/2017 Municipal Elections in Kutaisi, Martvili, Ozurgeti, Khashuri, Borjomi and Kazbegi. Static observers are deployed in all polling stations of Khashuri, Borjomi, Ozurgeti and Kazbegi districts. In Martvili and Kutaisi districts, GYLA observes problematic polling stations and the developments at the adjacent territories through mobile observer groups.

Hotline Number: 032 2 18 26 30

On the election day, GYLA’s electoral-analytical database collects and analyzes the information in real time, based on the data, uploaded by the observers and monitors from all the regions of Georgia.

Also, visit www.electionsportal.ge for the complete information about the election day violations, where you can upload the information about violations, through online form or free of charge SMS you can text to the following number: 90039.

On November 13, GYLA will evaluate the election day in its press-conference, at 13:00.

GYLA’s Observation Mission for the 2017 Local Elections was made possible through the funding, provided by the EU, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, Norwegian Embassy in Baku, National Endowment for Democracy (NED), US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF). The opinions expressed in the statement belong to the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) and its content may not reflect the opinion of its donor organizations.