Elections 2024: voter turnout at 10 a.m. reaches 9.27% in Georgia's general elections

A total of 324,197 voters have cast their ballots in the ongoing general elections in Georgia, representing a turnout of 9.27 percent of total eligible voters, the Georgia’s Central Election Commission announced on Saturday. 

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Natia Ioseliani, the CEC Spokesperson, said the voting process was proceeding “calmly” at polling stations and reported an isolated incident involving the issuance of two ballots to a single voter.

However, the Spokesperson clarified the vote-counting machines were “physically incapable of accepting two ballots simultaneously”, and assured any mechanical errors during the ballot issuance were identified on-site, claiming there had been “no cases” of machines receiving two ballots at once.

In her comments, Ioseliani reiterated the importance of compliance with the law, urging political parties, observers, and media representatives to “refrain from interfering with the election commissions' functions and facilitate a calm electoral process”. 

She also highlighted the need for media representatives to “adhere to established rules” regarding photography and videography within polling stations, warning that violations would lead to legal action by the electoral administration.

The Spokesperson also addressed regulations over the presence of observers at polling stations and noted domestic observer organisations were allowed one representative per polling station, while international organisations could have two observers, potentially accompanied by an interpreter.

Election laws prohibit any form of campaigning within polling places, including the display of campaign materials within 25 metres of polling station entrances, Ioseliani said.

Physical obstruction of voters within 100 metres of polling stations is not allowed, nor is gathering or counting voters in that vicinity on election day, she added. 

The Georgian Central Election Commission has registered 3,508,294 eligible voters, with 3,113,747 casting their ballots electronically. Among them, 135,922 first-time voters will participate, while 64,238 have requested transfer boxes to vote from their residences. 

In total, 95,910 Georgian citizens have been  registered with special lists for polling stations abroad.

A total of 3,111 polling stations are serving voters, including 3,044 within Georgia. Thirteen specialised stations have been established, with 12 in penitentiary institutions and one in a mental health facility. Overseas voting is set up across 67 stations in 53 cities within 42 countries.

Electronic voting technologies are being used in 2,263 polling stations across Georgia, while the remaining polling stations, including those abroad, are conducting voting in the traditional manner.