Georgia’s election administration rebukes ISFED’s “misleading claims” over gender voter statistics

Georgia’s Central Election Commission on Friday rejected what it termed as “incorrect, manipulative, and misleading” claims made by the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy domestic watchdog over alleged gender discrepancies in voter participation during the October 26 general elections.

The ISFED on Thursday raised concerns about “discrepancies” in voter turnout between male and female voters, citing a “significant deviation” between the number of registered male and female voters and those who actually voted.

The NGO further pointed to polling stations where it said male voter turnout had been measured at between 80 and 100 percent while “significantly lower” female turnout was identified , suggesting the figures could signal “electoral manipulations”.

In response, CEC spokesperson Natia Ioseliani clarified that gender statistics provided by election officials were “not official data but collected solely for statistical purposes”. She explained the numbers could “differ slightly” due to counting methods.

Ioseliani further explained that preliminary turnout data, including gender breakdowns, had been sent from polling stations but did not necessarily reflect final figures. 

She noted in some cases, the initial gender data sent on election day was erroneous due to inclusion of specific voters, such as election officials, hospitalised voters, or military personnel at polling stations far from their registered locations, leading to “minor discrepancies”.

Ioseliani claimed the gender data discrepancies had affected only a “small number of polling stations”, citing the figure of 11 related stations that she said had impacted about 150 voters.

In her comments, the Spokesperson also repeated calls from the ruling Georgian Dream party for the ISFED to publish its full electoral findings to “dispel any confusion regarding voter turnout and the integrity of the election process”. 

While the ISFED last month confirmed its parallel vote tabulation figures matched the CEC’s official results, the organisation refrained from publishing its full report, citing alleged violations before and on election day that could influence the outcome.