Parliament speaker: electronic voting system will leave “no room for speculation”

Speaker of the Georgian parliament Shalva Papuashvili on Monday said the introduction of an electronic voter registration and voting system starting with the 2024 parliamentary elections in the country would leave “no room for speculation”.

In his remarks over the matter, Papuashvili said the use of the technology in elections would see 70 percent of polling stations equipped with electronic counters, while the rest would have electronic scanners, with all ballots digitised.

Not only will they [domestic opposition] not have the opportunity to speculate, there will not be even the slightest complaint in this regard. [...] When technology is involved, there is no room for speculation”, the head of the legislative body said.

Irakli Kobakhidze, the chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said the ruling team had made a decision on the widespread introduction of an electronic voter registration and voting system starting with the 2024 elections.

Electronic voting will ultimately strengthen public confidence in the vote-counting process, ensure that more than 70 percent of votes are counted - and results published - within minutes after the closing of the voting process, and eliminate problems related to rigging exit polls and parallel vote tabulation”, the GD official said.