Election campaign period starts today in Georgia
The CEC will prepare 3,657 polling stations for the parliamentary elections in Georgia. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Starting today, the 59 political parties that have registered with the Central Election Commission (CEC) to run in the 2020 Georgian parliamentary elections can begin their election campaigns.
CEC Spokesperson Ana Mikeladze said that the commission has published the rules of the campaign period today.
So far 59 parties have registered to take part in the elections. Parties that have not registered yet can address the CEC until September 4", she said.
In addition, the CEC has also officially started taking the necessary measures to organise the parliamentary elections that will be held on October 31.
The CEC will prepare 3,657 polling stations for the parliamentary elections in Georgia.
Parliamentary elections will be held according to an updated electoral system: 120 MPs will be elected according to party lists, and 30 - according to majoritarian districts. In addition, the barrier for a party to enter parliament has been lowered and is now not three, but only one percent.
US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan says that Georgia should expect Russian interference in the upcoming parliamentary elections. She said that one of the ways Russia may interfere in the parliamentary elections is to spread disinformation campaigns.
President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili has named October 31 as the date of parliamentary elections and elections of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara within Georgia. Zurabishvili said that 30 years ago, on October 28, 1990 Georgia held democratic elections and 'we should continue this tradition and represent our country to the world as an extremely democratic country'.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell says that as an international observer it is more important for him to see how a party will win at the 2020 parliamentary elections of Georgia rather than who wins.
Coercion and intimidation of voters or the violation of vote secrecy will become criminally liable in Georgia as part of a series of amendments to the election code proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party. Violation of vote secrecy or coercion of a voter will result in a fine or house arrest for a period from six months to two years or imprisonment for about three years.
The United National Movement and nine opposition parties that are members of the Strength is in Unity political movement will nominate former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili as their candidate for the prime minister’s post, announced Chairman of the National Movement Grigol Vashadze.
Political party Lelo, created last year by the co-founders of TBC Bank Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, has the highest support of voters among newly formed parties in Georgia, says the election polls conducted by British company Survation, commissioned by Georgian Rustavi 2 TV channel.
The ruling Georgian Dream party has accepted the challenge of the opposition parties Lelo and Strategy Agmashenebeli to participate in debates in the coming days.
The ruling Georgian Dream party has spent 4.3 million GEL on election commercials between September 1 and September 21.
The ruling Georgian Dream party says that the ‘radical opposition’ which has ‘zero chance of winning the parliamentary elections’ has plans to release deepfakes on election day, on Saturday.Deepfake videos are inauthentic videos that depict people and voices that resemble their counterparts in reality.Kobakhidze says that the videos, which may depict members of the ruling party, including party founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, will aim to mislead voters.