Central Election Commission urges parties, organisation not to spread disinformation
The Georgian Central Election Commission says spreading false information on the electoral process is harmful for the election environment on the municipal election day.
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The Georgian Central Election Commission (CEC) has dismissed reports by the Civic Election Commission movement that Kutaisi district election commission forgot to send election registrators’ seals to polling stations.
CEC says that it is false information and that all polling stations in the western city of Kutaisi have opened without any obstacles.
The Central Election Commission also stated that the same movement released another fake information that the ninth polling station had not been opened in Lagodekhi, eastern Georgia.
CEC has called upon every party involved in the elections to refrain from spreading false or unchecked information which may pose threats to the electoral environment.
The Civic Election Commission is a new initiative founded by Shame civic movement and Public Initiative Association for the October 2 municipal elections.
The initiative ‘aims at informing the public on election issues and maximal involvement of voters in the electoral process.’
Joint opposition candidate for head of Tbilisi City Assembly, founder of the Droa opposition party, Elene Khoshtaria has cast her ballot in today’s municipal elections and said that the country’s fate is in the hands of voters.
Head of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party Nika Melia, who is running for Tbilisi mayor in the October 2 municipal elections, says that ‘if almost all international observers say that the elections were held in the full line with the EU and US standards, we will accept the results.’
Eleven days are left until the October 2 municipal elections in Georgia when voters will elect 64 mayors and 2,068 members in 64 city councils. The lead up to the elections has been marked by the ruling party’s withdrawal from the April 19 EU-mediated agreement, an attack on journalists by right-wing activists in July during Tbilisi Pride events, the recent leak of alleged personal files and continued vows of Georgia’s ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili that he will return.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party head Irakli Kobakhidze has stated that ‘provocations are expected from the radical opposition’ on election day today and urged party supporters to stay calm and ‘not to respond to any provocation.’
Former Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, who now leads the opposition For Georgia party, has cast his ballot in today’s municipal elections and said that 'these are elections between the past and the future'. He called on the public to participate in the elections.
Georgia is holding municipal elections today. Voters will elect 2,068 members of 64 city assemblies and 64 mayors.They will receive three different ballot papers at the polling station.43 political parties have been registered for the October 2 elections.A total of 3,743 polling stations have been established in 73 election constituencies (including nine polling stations in prisons and 70 special polling stations for the individuals who are in self-isolation because of coronavirus).
EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell says that today’s municipal elections are a test for Georgian democracy, ‘which I hope that Georgia will successfully pass’, he said earlier today.
A total of 259,273 voters (7.41 per cent of eligible voters) have cast their ballots in the Georgian municipal elections as of 10 a.m. today. Georgia’s Central Election Commission says that the most active constituency is currently Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti where 11.2 per cent of registered voters have cast their vote.