Parliament Speaker: electronic voting for 2024 Elections will “remove speculation”
Papuashvili said “this is a very important innovation because it will remove all kinds of speculation by radical groups”. Photo: Shalva Papuashvili’s Facebook
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Shalva Papuashvili, the Georgian Parliament Speaker, on Monday said the introduction of electronic voting across the country ahead of the 2024 Parliamentary Elections would “remove all kinds of speculation” by domestic “radical groups” about “rigged elections”.
The official made the comment while commenting on the new public information campaign by the Central Election Commission that launched on Monday with the goal of informing citizens about the novelty.
In his press comments, Papuashvili said 90 percent of voters would undergo verification at polling stations using electronic technology, while voting itself would be handled through an electronic counter.
This is a very important innovation because it will remove all kinds of speculation by [domestic] radical groups over [rigged] elections”, Papuashvili said.
Papuashvili also said citizens abroad would also be offered the new system during the vote at polling stations, while adding remote voting had been used only in a “few countries” and carried “specific risks”, and citing the example of the United Kingdom, where he said plans for remote voting had been cancelled due to threats of “Russian interference”.
The CEC tested the new technology earlier this month during midterm elections in several municipalities, and claimed they had “proved to be successful”.
The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, a domestic non-Governmental organisation working on election topics, on Monday also said the technology had “worked well”, and pointed to the need for a broad information campaign over the innovation.
Giorgi Kalandarishvili, the Chair of the Central Election Commission of Georgia, said the interim parliamentary and mayoral elections across the country on Sunday had “proved” the “readiness” of the election administration, voters and the public for electronic voting.
Interim parliamentary and mayoral elections will be held on Sunday, with voters set to elect a majoritarian member of the Parliament in Gori and Kaspi, as well as the mayor of Gurjaani, using an electronic voting system, the Central Election Commission said on Saturday.
Rati Ionatamishvili, an MP of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said the new initiative for introducing electronic voting in elections in the country could cover 90 percent of voters instead of initially offered 70 for the 2024 parliamentary elections, with the remaining ballot papers being instantly digitised and uploaded online after their retrieval from ballot boxes.
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”.
The Central Election Commission of Georgia on Tuesday said the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili was “openly trying” to discredit electronic voting by spreading misinformation, alleging that the new system “is analogue to the Russian one” and would “cancel the elections”.
Electoral reform in Georgia was discussed in a meeting between Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party and members of the United Nations Electoral Needs Assessment Mission, the Georgian Parliament said on Friday.
Representatives of Georgia’s Central Election Commission on Monday introduced the electronic voting technology intended for introduction at next year’s Parliamentary Elections to employees of the Government Administration as part of the public information campaign for informing citizens about the novelty ahead of the 2024 vote.
The 11th edition of the International Conference of Election Management Bodies, dedicated to electoral technology and combating disinformation, is being hosted by the Central Election Commission of Georgia in the Black Sea city of Batumi on Wednesday.
The topic of Georgia's 2024 parliamentary elections was discussed on Wednesday in a meeting between Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Pia Kauma, the visiting President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Robin Dunnigan, the Ambassador of the United States to Georgia, on Friday said the European Commission’s report that last week recommended the European Council to grant Georgia the European Union membership candidate status was a “big step” for the country.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Friday said all identification cards issued before 2011, prior to the introduction of electronic IDs across the country, would lose their legal validity.
Preparations for next year’s parliamentary elections in Georgia and introduction of an electronic voting system ahead of the vote were discussed in a meeting between a delegation of the Central Election Commission of Georgia and representatives of the United States Agency for International Development and International Republican Institute in Washington on Tuesday.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday claimed the country’s authorities were “well-prepared” for next year’s parliamentary elections, but opposed the latest opinion by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe over election rules of the head of the country’s Central Election Commission and its members.
The Georgian Central Election Commission on Thursday accused unspecified domestic political actors of using the latest opinion by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, which recommended the election of the CEC Chair and its members by two-thirds of the parliamentary majority, to “discredit” the body.
Georgia’s Central Election Commission on Wednesday set October 26 as the date for this year’s parliamentary elections and outlined mandatory registration procedures for participating parties.
Beka Davituliani, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Thursday slammed the United National Movement party for “creating a storm in a teacup” after the latter called for the country’s Foreign Ministry to formally request observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe for the parliamentary elections in the country later this year.
Giorgi Kalandarishvili, the Chair of the Central Election Commission, on Tuesday provided representatives from 40 political parties with a detailed overview of electronic voting technologies, the CEC said.
Georgia's European Union integration was discussed on Wednesday in a meeting between Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the European Integration Committee of the Georgian Parliament, and Marc Nordberg, the Counselor for Political and Economic Affairs of the United States Embassy in Georgia.
The ongoing work for public information campaigns for this year's parliamentary elections in Georgia was discussed in a meeting between Giorgi Kalandarishvili, the Chair of the Central Election Commission, and representatives of international organisations and diplomatic missions in the country.