Central Election Commission: vote count to be taped at 3,200 polling stations
The vote count will begin today at 20 p.m. after the voting process is over and will be uploaded gradually on a dedicated website. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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The vote count will be taped in 3,200 polling stations during the October 2 municipal elections in Georgia for the first time as part of an additional transparency measure, spokesperson of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia Natia Ioseliani has stated.
Video recordings will be promptly uploaded to the internet on the Google Drive platform. Video cameras will also be used to record the recounting procedure as well. As a result of electoral reform it will be implemented for the first time this year,” said Ioseliani.
The Georgian parliament adopted electoral amendments in late June this year which were initially proposed back in March 2021 by the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party and Citizens opposition and later were revised in line with the April 19 EU-mediated agreement.
The electoral legislation reform package provided changes to the structure and effectiveness of the CEC.
Anyone will be able to observe the process of summarising the preliminary election results online at the website of CEC via internet broadcasting.
The broadcast will be done by using 360-degree technology on the CEC Facebook page, Youtube and (the body’s) official website,” stated Ioseliani.
The vote count will begin today at 20 p.m. after the voting process is over and will be uploaded gradually on a dedicated website.
Overall 1,446,218 voters (41.35% of eligible voters) have participated in municipal elections in Georgia nationwide as of 17 p.m. today.
The CEC has stated that the voting process ‘continues in a calm environment.’
The CEC reports that the region of Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti remains the most active constituency with 55.3% of voters casting their ballots while the least active region as of 17 p.m. is Kvemo Kartli where voter turnout stands at 37.9%.
In the local self-government elections of 2017, voter turnout was at 36.71% while in 2014 it stood at 34.64%.
However, in the parliamentary elections of 2020 voter turnout for 17 p.m. stood at 45.77%.
A total of 1,815,776 people (51.92 per cent of eligible voters) have cast ballots in the municipal elections as of 8 p.m. today. The Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairperson Giorgi Kalandarishvili thanked everyone for their participation in the elections.
The Georgian Interior Ministry says the public order is being maintained throughout the country to ensure that citizens can cast their ballot in free and safe environment. Ministry representative Natia Kovziashvili said at a news briefing that the ministry representatives are in close communication with the local and international non-government organisations as well as the Public Defender’s Office.
A total of 1,160,413 voters (33.18 per cent of eligible voters) have cast their ballots in the Georgian municipal elections as of 3 p.m. today. Georgia’s Central Election Commission says that Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti is still the most active constituency where 47.5 per cent of registered voters have cast their vote.
A total of 619,562 voters (17.72 per cent of eligible voters) have cast their ballots in the Georgian municipal elections as of 12 p.m. today. Georgia’s Central Election Commission says that Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti is still the most active constituency where 27.4 per cent of registered voters have cast their vote.
All Georgian constituencies will be provided with video cameras to record the vote-counting process during the upcoming October 2 municipal elections, Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Giorgi Sioridze announced earlier today. Sioridze also noted that video recordings are the only ‘new technological innovation’ implemented for the upcoming elections.
Municipal elections unlike other elections have majoritarian, proportional and mayoral ballots counting of which requires more time, moreover, overall 43 political parties are registered for this year’s elections which is twice as many as in previous years, the Central Election Commission (CEC) has explained. Referring to the counting, spokesperson of the CEC Natia Ioseliani stated that ‘everything is being done in full compliance with the law.’
Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia) says that its more than 300 representatives observing yesterday’s municipal elections in Georgia have recorded about 160 minor and serious violations on the election day across the country.