Pre-2011 ID cards to lose legal validity across Georgia - ruling party head
The party official specified the latter comment by said the number of voters eligible to cast votes in the elections without electronic IDs would be between 500 and 1000. Photo: Georgian Dream Press Office
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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.
In his comments to the media, Kobakhidze said individuals without the current electronic IDs would be able to vote for next year’s parliamentary elections, but added the number of these cards would be “kept to a minimum”.
The party official specified the latter comment by said the number of voters eligible to cast votes in the elections without electronic IDs would be between 500 and 1000.
His comments followed the Georgian Parliament’s decision last week that approved with its first reading amendments proposed by opposition MP Pridon Injia to allow use of non-electronic IDs for the elections.
The proposal was backed by Public Defender Levan Ioseliani, who said the right of citizens to participate in elections “cannot be limited” and added voters “should participate with the [identification] documents they have”. He also urged the public to replace non-electronic IDs with modern identification documents.
Georgian Public Defender Levan Ioseliani on Thursday said he backed enabling voters to participate in elections with non-electronic identification cards, in response to claims by domestic opposition groups that said the prospect could allow the Government to “rig” votes.
A public opinion poll published on Tuesday by the Tbilisi-based Georgian Opinion Research Business International has put the approval rating of the ruling Georgian Dream party at 55 percent.
Kakha Kaladze, the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Monday said the five percent election threshold would remain “unchanged” for next year’s parliamentary elections, amid demands by domestic opposition groups to decrease it to two percent.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Monday rejected a new report by the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy on electronic voting machines to be used in the 2024 parliamentary elections across the country as “totally manipulative and speculative”.
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.
Natia Ioseliani, the Spokesperson of the Georgian Central Election Commission, on Friday rejected as a “lie” claims on the election administration refusing to create polling stations abroad ahead of the 2024 parliamentary elections and shifting the responsibility over the matter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Monday said the Government was “interested in conducting transparent and competitive” parliamentary elections in 2024, and pledged it would “cooperate with everyone who will participate in this process with us”.
Rati Bregadze, the candidate for the Minister of Justice of Georgia, on Monday announced citizens would be able to replace their older, laminated ID cards with new electronic versions free of charge.