Final Report of the Extraordinary / By-Elections of May 19, 2019 by GYLA Observation Mission

On August 01, the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA) submitted a summary report on extraordinary/by-Election of May 19, 2019. The document covers the period from March 20 to June 17. The report outlines the violations, revealed by observation of GYLA during the pre-election, post-election and post-election period, also key findings, trends, and recommendations of the organization.

The main topic of the report is a distortion of the voter attitude, achieved by the parties in three main ways: Controlling the will of the voter, bribery the voters and creating a tense political background.

In the framework of the observer mission, GYLA revealed:

- 3 facts of voter bribery;

- 1 fact of manipulation by voter registration and violation of the principle of a secret ballot;

- 5 facts of physical confrontation and violence;

- 3 facts of the use of budgetary resources for electoral purposes;

- 1 fact of illegal interference with journalistic activity;

- 5 facts of violation of financing rules of the pre-election campaign;

- 1 fact of interference with observer activity;

- 1 fact of violation of the principle of secret voting;

- 4 facts of violation of casting lots procedures;

- 3 facts of violation of the voting procedure;

- 2 facts of repeat voting;

- 1 fact of being unauthorized persons at the electoral precinct;

- 6 facts of inaccuracies in the summary protocols.

- 2 facts of verbal conflict;

- 1 fact of threatening.

GYLA believes that control over the expression of the will of the voters requires relevant legislative regulation.

GYLA recommends that the State Audit Office, the Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, within their competence, timely and thoroughly investigate cases of specific violations (voter bribery, violations of financing rules of election campaign, illegal interference with journalistic activities, facts of physical confrontation) and carry out appropriate legal response.