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Return back | ELECTION CODE OF GEORGIA | |
|---|---|
| Document number | 5636-რს |
| Document issuer | Parliament of Georgia |
| Date of issuing | 27/12/2011 |
| Document type | Organic Law of Georgia |
| Source and date of publishing | Website, 10/01/2012 |
| Registration code | 010190020.04.001.016032 |
| Consolidated publications | |
Consolidated versions (03/09/2015 - 27/10/2015)
Organic Law of Georgia
Election Code of Georgia
Section I. General Part
Chapter I - General Provisions
Article 1 - Scope of the Law
This Law regulates relations connected with preparation and conduct of referenda, plebiscites, and elections of the President of Georgia, the Parliament of Georgia, a local self-government representative body – Sakrebulo (‘Sakrebulo’), and of a local self-government executive body - Mayor/Gamgebeli (head of local administration). This Law establishes the rights and guarantees of election participants, the procedure for the establishment of the Electoral Administration of Georgia and its powers; also, where so provided for by this Law, the procedure for resolution of disputes.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 2 - Definition of terms
For the purposes of this Law, the terms used herein have the following meanings:
a) referendum - a nation-wide polling by secret ballot aimed at overall, equal, and direct expression of will to decide especially important national issues, which is conducted throughout the territory of Georgia;
b) plebiscite - a nation-wide polling by secret ballot for identifying the opinion of voters or part of voters concerning especially important national issues, results of which are of recommendatory character for the public authorities;
c) elections - electoral process, the objective and outcome of which is to elect public officials and representative bodies of public authority;
d) general elections - regular or extraordinary elections:
d.a) regular elections - elections held because of the expiration of the term of office of a representative body of public authority or a public official within the time frame defined by the Constitution of Georgia, this Law, the Constitutions of the Autonomous Republics of Abkhazia and Ajara, and the respective laws;
d.b) extraordinary elections – elections held as a result of pre-term termination of the tenure of a representative body of public authority or a public official;
e) by-elections - elections held under the majoritarian electoral system in the respective electoral district as determined by this Law in order to fill a vacant seat of the representative body of state authority;
f) re-run elections – repeat elections held as determined for regular elections, provided that:
f.a) one candidate runs in elections held under the majoritarian electoral system and his/her candidacy is withdrawn as defined by this Law;
f.b) none of electoral subjects running in the elections held under the proportional electoral system passes an electoral threshold or failure of elections is declared in more than half of the electoral districts;
f.c) election results are declared void by a court decision;
g) repeat voting – voting conducted again in the electoral precinct(s) where polling results are declared void, or voting conducted again in the entire multi-seat electoral district based on party lists where no party/electoral bloc has been awarded a seat;
h) second round of elections (run-off) - voting conducted in cases and within the time frame defined in this Law, when a winner cannot be determined in the first round of elections;
i) election (polling) day - the day of holding general elections, by-elections, or re-run elections, as well as run-off or repeat voting;
j) elections held under the proportional electoral system - election for members of the Parliament (MPs) of Georgia and for members of a local self-government representative body Sakrebulo based on party lists;
k) elections held under the majoritarian electoral system - election for members of the Parliament (MPs) of Georgia and for members of a local self-government representative body Sakrebulo according to single-seat electoral districts;
l) suffrage - active and passive right to vote;
m) active suffrage - the right of a citizen of Georgia to participate, by casting a vote, in general elections, referenda, and plebiscites held for electing the people’s representatives to the representative body of public authority and for holding public offices;
n) passive suffrage - the right of a citizen of Georgia to run for the representative body of public authority and for public office;
o) electoral registration - registration of parties, electoral blocs, initiative groups of voters and candidates by the respective election commission in order to obtain the right to run in elections;
p) candidate for electoral subject - a person nominated for registration in the respective election commission to run in elections;
q) electoral subject - a party, electoral bloc, or initiative group of voters, or a candidate for member of public authority representative body or a candidate for public office registered by the respective election commission;
q1) qualified electoral subject (other than for the purposes of Article 51 of this Law) – a qualified party or an electoral bloc registered under this Law that includes a qualified party;
r) Electoral Administration of Georgia - the Central Election Commission of Georgia (‘the CEC’) and its staff, the Supreme Election Commissions of the Autonomous Republics of Abkhazia and Ajara (‘the SEC’) and their staff, the District Election Commissions (DECs) and the Precinct Election Commissions (PECs);
s) Electoral Administration officer - an election commission member and staff;
t) party - a political union of citizens acting under the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Unions of Citizens that is registered by the CEC to run in elections;
t1) qualified party (other than for the purposes of Article 51 of this Law) – a party financed from the State Budget of Georgia under Article 30 of the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Unions of Citizens;
u) electoral bloc - a union of two or more parties registered by the CEC;
v) candidate for President of Georgia - a citizen of Georgia nominated by a party or an initiative group of voters registered by the CEC to run for the President of Georgia;
w) Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidate - a citizen of Georgia registered by the chairperson of the relevant election commission to run for Mayor/Gamgebeli;
x) candidate nominated under a party list - a citizen of Georgia entered in a party list registered by the respective election commission to run in elections for the Parliament of Georgia or for a local self-government representative body Sakrebulo;
y) majoritarian candidate - a citizen of Georgia nominated in an electoral district by a party/electoral bloc/initiative group of voters registered by the respective election commission to run in elections for the Parliament of Georgia or for a local self-government representative body Sakrebulo;
z) electoral district - an operation area (administrative electoral division) where elections and referenda are organised and held;
z1) majoritarian electoral district – a single-seat electoral district established for the election of the Parliament of Georgia;
z2) local majoritarian electoral district – a single-seat electoral district established for the election of the members of a local self-government representative body Sakrebulo under the majoritarian system;
z3) electoral precinct - administrative electoral division established as determined by the legislation of Georgia for polling and vote counting during elections or referenda;
z4) local self-government representative body Sakrebulo – Sakrebulo of the capital of Georgia – Tbilisi, Sakrebulo of a self-governing community, and Sakrebulo of a self-governing city;
z41) local self-government executive body – a Mayor of a self-governing city, a Gamgebeli of a self-governing community;
z5) political official - the President of Georgia, an MP of Georgia, the Prime Minister of Georgia, other members of the Government of Georgia and their deputies, members of the Supreme Representative Bodies of the Autonomous Republics of Abkhazia and Ajara, heads of the Governments of the Autonomous Republics of Abkhazia and Ajara, as well as a member of a local self-government representative body and the head of its executive body, also State Trustee - the Governor;
z6) political/pre-election advertising - commercial broadcast by mass media (‘the media’) aimed at promoting/hindering the election of an electoral subject, where the electoral subject and/or its sequence number are displayed and which contains the signs of election campaign or appeals for or against the issue put forward for referendum/plebiscite;
z7) election campaign - a set of measures carried out by an electoral subject/candidate for electoral subject aimed at running in and winning elections;
z8) canvassing - appeal to voters in favour of or against an electoral subject/candidate, as well as any public action facilitating or impeding its election and/or containing signs of election campaign, including the participation in organisation/conduct of pre-electoral events, preservation or dissemination of election materials, work on the list of supporters, presence in the representations of political parties;
z9) election/referendum campaign expense - the sum of funds of an electoral subject/referendum participant for an election/referendum campaign, as well as all goods and services obtained free of charge (reflected in market prices), except for free air time cost as determined by this Law;
z10) information on the election/referendum campaign expense - information on the election/referendum campaign expense, all goods and services received free of charge, donation source, amount and date of the receipt of donation;
z11) electoral donations - funds deposited by natural persons to the account of the respective electoral subject during the election/referendum campaign, as well as all types of material value and services obtained free of charge, except for free air time cost as determined by this Law;
z12) electoral documents - applications, complaints, letters, business correspondence, protocols, ballot papers, special envelopes, legislative acts of the Electoral Administration of Georgia, check-lists, registration books, lists of voters, voter invitation cards, and other documents incoming and outgoing at the election commissions;
z13) biometric registration – taking a biometric photo and recording personal data (questionnaire survey) as determined by this Law, as well as holding a Georgian citizen’s electronic identity card or a Georgian citizen’s biometric passport, except when that document is issued after biometric registration under this Law;
z14) campaign material – a poster, flag, and any other material on which an electoral subject/candidate for electoral subject and/or its sequence number is depicted.
z15) Agency – the Legal Entity under Public Law (LEPL) – the Public Service Development Agency within the Ministry for Justice of Georgia;
z16) Beneficiary of support – persons defined under Article 12(4-5) of the Civil Code of Georgia.
Organic Law of Georgia No 878 of 27 July 2013 – website, 7.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 864 of 25 July 2013 – website, 19.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 3402 of 20 March 2015 – website, 31.3.2015
Article 3 - Basic principles for holding elections, referenda, and plebiscites
Basic principles for holding elections, referenda, and plebiscites in Georgia shall be:
a) universal suffrage to participate in elections/referenda/plebiscites:
a.a) any citizen of Georgia, who has attained the age of 18 before or on the day of an election/referendum/plebiscite and who meets the requirements defined by this Law, shall enjoy active suffrage, except for the persons who, under the Constitution of Georgia and/or this Law, have a restricted active suffrage;
a.b) any citizen of Georgia, meeting the requirements defined by this Law, shall enjoy passive suffrage, except for the persons who, under the Constitution of Georgia and/or this Law, have a restricted passive suffrage;
a.c) a citizen of Georgia who is placed in a penitentiary institution under a court judgment, except for persons having committed a crime of little gravity; and a beneficiary of support if he/she is placed at an inpatient psychiatric facility under the Law of Georgia on Psychiatric Assistance, shall not be qualified to participate in elections, referenda and plebiscites;
b) equal suffrage:
b.a) voters shall participate in elections, referenda, and plebiscites on equal grounds;
b.b) every voter of the same electoral district shall have an equal number of votes;
c) direct suffrage:
c.a) elections in Georgia shall be direct;
c.b) the President of Georgia, an MP of Georgia, a member of the Sakrebulo of a self-governing city/community, and the Mayor/Gamgebeli of a self-governing city/community shall be elected directly by voters;
d) secrecy of ballot and free expression of the will of voters:
d.a) elections, referenda, and plebiscites in Georgia shall be held by secret ballot;
d.b) any influence restricting a free expression of the will of voters, as well as any control over the expression of the will of voters shall be prohibited.
Organic Law of Georgia No 864 of 25 July 2013 – website, 19.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 3402 of 20 March 2015 – website, 31.3.2015
Organic Law of Georgia No 3562 of 1 May 2015 – website, 18.5.2015
Article 4 - Publicity of elections
According to and for the purposes of this Law, the activities of the Electoral Administration of Georgia, electoral subjects, state authorities, and local self-government bodies shall be open and public.
Article 5 - Calculation of terms under this Law
1. During elections, all the terms under this Law, including the terms for judicial recourse and for delivery of a court judgment, shall be counted in calendar days (including weekends and holidays as defined by the labour legislation of Georgia).
2. Expressions ‘in N days from the given day’, ‘within N days period from the given day’, ‘not earlier/not later than N days from the given day’, ‘not earlier/not later than the Nth day from the given day’ shall imply the beginning of counting from the day following the indicated day.
3. Expressions ‘N days before the given day’, ‘not earlier/not later than N days before the given day’, ‘not earlier/not later than the Nth day before the given day’ shall imply the beginning of counting from the day preceding the indicated day.
Article 6 - Announcement of Election Day as a holiday
Regular elections/referenda/plebiscites, except for presidential elections, may be held on any day of the week. The polling day shall be announced as a holiday.
Chapter II - Electoral Administration of Georgia and Its Powers
Article 7 - Status, system, and composition of the Electoral Administration of Georgia
1. The Electoral Administration of Georgia is an independent administrative body that shall be independent from other public bodies, within its powers, and shall be established according to this Law. This Law shall define the powers and procedures for establishment of the Electoral Administration of Georgia.
2. The Electoral Administration of Georgia shall be composed of:
a) the CEC and its staff
b) the SEC and its staff
c) the DECs
d) the PECs.
3. The CEC is the supreme body of the Electoral Administration of Georgia that shall, within its powers, manage and control election commissions at all levels, and ensure the uniform application of the electoral legislation throughout the territory of Georgia.
4. If general elections and the elections for the Supreme Council of Ajara are held simultaneously, DECs and PECs formed for general elections shall perform the duties of DECs and PECs.
5. Members and staff of the CEC and the SEC, as well as members of DECs, except for the assisting personnel and freelance workers and except for the DEC members defined in Article 19(5) of this Law, shall be public servants and the Law of Georgia on Public Service shall apply thereto, unless otherwise determined by this Law.
Article 8 - Election commission rules of operation
1. This Law and the respective commission regulations adopted by CEC ordinance, shall lay down the rules of operation for an election commission.
2. A session of an election commission shall be called by the chairperson or upon request of the deputy chairperson of the commission.
3. A session shall be authorised if attended by a majority of the total number of the election commission members.
4. A commission decision shall be deemed adopted if supported by a majority of the members present at the session (unless this Law provides for a higher quorum), but by not less than one-third of the total number of the election commission members. The decisions of an election commission regarding the decisions made by lower election commissions, including the nullification of electoral district/precinct results, the opening of packages received from the election commission, and the counting of election ballot papers, shall be adopted by not less than two-thirds of those present at the session.
5. In the case of an equal number of votes, the chairperson of the session shall cast the deciding vote.
6. Issues of human resources shall be resolved at the session by a majority vote of the total number of the election commission members.
7. The chairperson of the session and the secretary of the election commission shall sign minutes of sessions.
8. The session minutes shall be executed within one day from the session.
9. An election commission member who objects to the decision of the commission shall have the right to express his/her dissenting opinion in writing, which shall be attached to the minutes of the session. At the same time, a member having a dissenting opinion shall respect and obey the decision delivered by the commission. An election commission member shall have no right to impede, by his/her action/omission, the execution of a properly adopted decision.
10. An election commission shall accept, issue, and register electoral documents until 18:00 of the working day, except for cases defined by this Law.
11. Upon receipt of an application/complaint, the date and time of its receipt shall be recorded in the registration book of an election commission, as well as in the notice delivered to the applicant/complainant. The commission shall consider the application/complaint and shall make an appropriate decision.
12. The applicant shall confirm by signature in the registration book receipt of any document from an election commission.
13. An election commission shall have no right to consider an application/complaint if the deadlines and procedures for its submission are not met.
14. Electoral documents shall be available to the public. It is the duty of an election commission to make electoral documents and election information available to interested persons within two days after receiving such a request. If copies are requested, the amount and the payment procedures shall be regulated according to the legislation of Georgia.
15. Sessions of an election commission shall be open. Members of the higher election commission and commission representatives, staff members of the respective and higher election commissions, representatives of media accredited in the respective commission, one representative of electoral subjects in the respective commission, as well as one observer from a domestic observer organisation registered with the respective commission, one observer from an international organisation registered with the CEC, together with an interpreter, shall have the right to attend sessions of an election commission. In the case of any breach of order and obstruction of the work of an election commission, the commission may decide to remove the troublemaker, which shall be recorded in the minutes of the session.
16. The following individuals shall have the right to stay at a polling station:
a) members of the CEC, DECs and PECs
b) representatives of the CEC and DECs
c) representative of an electoral subject
d) representatives of the press and media registered with the respective commissions
e) observers.
17. Everyone authorised to stay at a polling station shall carry a badge (certificate) indicating his/her identity and title.
18. In the case of any breach of order and obstruction of the work of an election commission, the commission may decide to remove the troublemaker from the administrative building, as well as from the session during the session. The decision shall be recorded in the minutes of the session.
19. An election commission member shall be obliged to participate in the commission activities as from the day of his/her appointment (election) in the respective commission.
20. A DEC or PEC member shall be obliged to sign a summary protocol of polling or election results. If the DEC or PEC member objects to the information reflected in the protocol, he/she may indicate the same in the respective section of the summary protocol of polling and election results and attach a written dissenting opinion to the protocol.
21. An election commission member is not the representative of his/her appointer/voter. An election commission member shall be independent in his/her activities and shall act only according to the Constitution of Georgia, law, and respective subordinate acts. Any pressure upon an election commission member or any interference in his/her activities with the aim of influencing his/her decision shall be prohibited and punishable by law.
22. If the commission chairperson and deputy chairperson are simultaneously, or the commission secretary is temporarily, unable to perform the duties defined by this Law, and if under the same Law an action falling within the exclusive authority of the chairperson or the secretary is to be carried out, the commission shall elect, without delay, under the procedures defined in this Law for the election of relevant officials, an acting chairperson or a secretary from among his/her staff. The powers of the acting chairperson of the commission shall cease once the commission chairperson or deputy chairperson is able to perform their duties, and the powers of the acting secretary of the commission shall cease once the commission secretary is able to perform his/her duties.
23. If an election commission does not have a chairperson or a deputy chairperson, the commission secretary shall call a session to elect the commission chairperson and shall chair the commission until the chairperson is elected, and if the commission does not have a secretary, the senior member of the commission shall call and chair the commission session until the chairperson is elected.
24. In the case of absence of the commission chairperson, or upon his/her instruction, the commission deputy chairperson shall perform his/her duties.
25. Persons authorised to be present at a polling station shall have the right to conduct photo and video shooting of the polling station, except for the polling booths, without obstructing the electoral process.
Article 9 - Remuneration
1. In the course of elections/referenda, members and head officers of the CEC and DEC, as well as the CEC staff and employees of the Legal Entity under Public Law (LEPL) – Center for Electoral Systems Development, Reforms, and Trainings shall receive double remuneration.
11. During by-elections, double remuneration under the first paragraph of this article shall be paid only to DEC members and head officers in the electoral district where the by-elections are held.
2. PEC members and head officers (based on a higher DEC decree) shall receive salaries from the funds allocated for holding elections from the 30th day before Election Day, until the higher DEC draws up a summary protocol of polling results.
3. The CEC shall determine the salary amount paid to head officers and members of the CEC, DECs and PECs, as well as to the CEC staff members.
4. For a temporary DEC member or a PEC member, who:
a) is entered into the Integrated Database of Socially Vulnerable Families, the salary earned under this article shall not be included in the total family income and his/her state funding shall not be discontinued;
b) receive a social package under the Ordinance of the Government of Georgia on Determination of Social Packages, his/her social package shall not be discontinued. (Applies to legal relations arising from 15 April 2014)
Organic Law of Georgia No 157 of 26 December 2012 – website, 30.12.2012
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 2485 of 29 May 2014 – website, 2.6.2014
Article 10 - Composition of the CEC and procedures for electing the CEC Chairperson
1. The CEC shall be composed of a Chairperson and 12 members. The CEC Chairperson simultaneously shall act as a member of the CEC. Termination of the powers of the CEC Chairperson concurrently shall result in the termination of his/her membership. The Parliament of Georgia shall elect 5 members of the CEC, on the recommendation of the President of Georgia, while the parties shall appoint 7 members as defined by this Law.
2. On the recommendation of the President of Georgia, either the CEC members appointed by parties (except for a member appointed by the party obtaining the best results in the previous parliamentary elections) or the Parliament of Georgia shall elect the CEC Chairperson as provided for by this article. The term of office of the CEC Chairperson shall be five years.
3. The President of Georgia shall, after consultations with local non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities, nominate 3 candidates for the CEC Chairperson to the CEC not later than 30 days before the term of office of the CEC Chairperson expires, and if the term of office of the CEC Chairperson terminates, not later than 15 days after the termination.
4. The candidate for CEC Chairperson shall be a capable citizen of Georgia, who has attained the age of 25, is non-partisan, has higher education, is fluent in the official language of Georgia, meets the requirements of Article 12(5) of this Law, this paragraph, and Article 17 of the Law of Georgia on Public Service, has work experience of not less than three years and holds a certificate of an Electoral Administration officer.
5. CEC members appointed by parties (except for a member appointed by the party with the best results in the previous parliamentary elections) shall decide to elect the CEC Chairperson within five days after the list of candidates is submitted. The senior member among those defined in this paragraph shall convene and preside over the session. Voting for the election of the CEC Chairperson shall be secret. Each voting member shall have one vote. All 3 candidates shall be put to vote simultaneously. Any candidate who receives 4 or more votes shall be deemed elected as the CEC Chairperson. The chairperson of the session/senior member of the CEC shall sign the minutes of the session and the CEC decree regarding the CEC Chairperson election.
6. Unless the CEC Chairperson is elected within the time frame defined by the fifth paragraph of this article, the Parliament of Georgia shall, within seven days, elect the CEC Chairperson out of the same 3 candidates nominated by the President of Georgia.
7. A CEC decree regarding the Chairperson election shall be sent to the Parliament of Georgia within seven days, and in the case defined by the sixth paragraph of this article, the decision of the Parliament of Georgia shall be submitted to the CEC within seven days.
Article 11 - Procedures for electing the CEC Deputy Chairperson and Secretary
1. Not less than 2 members of the commission shall have the right to nominate the candidates for Deputy Chairperson and Secretary of the CEC.
2. The same candidate may be nominated only twice.
3. If the commission fails to elect the Deputy Chairperson and the Secretary within the time set, the commission member having received most votes during elections, and in the case of an equal number of votes, the person defined by casting lots, shall perform the duties of the Deputy Chairperson and the Secretary until they are elected.
Article 12 - Procedures for electing CEC members
1. The President of Georgia shall select and submit to the Parliament of Georgia 5 candidates for CEC membership as determined in this article. The term of office of CEC members elected by the Parliament of Georgia shall be five years.
2. Selection of candidates for CEC membership shall be open.
3. The President of Georgia shall issue a decree for holding a competition and setting up a competition commission not later than 30 days before the term of office of the CEC members expire, and if a vacancy occurs, not later than 15 days from its occurrence. Half of the commission members shall be composed of the representatives of local non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Competition documents shall be submitted not later than 14 days after the competition is announced. If the above time frame coincides with the election period, the President of Georgia shall announce the competition not later than seven days following the announcement of the final results of election. The powers of a CEC member shall terminate once a new member is elected.
4. A candidate for CEC membership shall be a legally capable citizen of Georgia, who has attained the age of 25, is non-partisan, has higher education, is fluent in the official language of Georgia, has work experience of not less than three years, and holds a certificate of an Electoral Administration officer.
5. The following individuals may not be elected/appointed as a CEC member:
a) a person who does not hold a certificate of an Electoral Administration officer
b) a person who has been dismissed from a position in the Electoral Administration by the election commission or the court due to violating the electoral legislation of Georgia
c) a person who has violated the electoral legislation of Georgia and the violation is confirmed by the court
d) a person who has been convicted of a crime and whose conviction has not been expunged
e) an electoral subject/a candidate for electoral subject and its representative
f) an observer.
6. Unless a minimum of 2 people are nominated for a vacant position within the time frame determined by this Law, the competition shall continue until a minimum of 2 people are nominated for the vacant position.
7. The list of candidates shall be published within two days after the deadline for nominating candidates expires.
8. A competition commission shall present to the President of Georgia not less than 2 and not more than 3 candidates for CEC membership for each vacancy not later than five days after the deadline for nominating candidates expires. The President of Georgia shall make a decision on the selection of candidates and recommend 2 candidates to the Parliament of Georgia for one vacant CEC member position not later than seven days after the candidates are selected.
9. The Parliament of Georgia shall elect CEC members by a roll-call vote not later than 14 days after the President of Georgia recommends candidates for CEC membership to the Parliament of Georgia. Each candidate shall be put to a vote separately. The CEC member shall be deemed elected if supported by a majority of MPs of Georgia. If the number of elected persons exceeds the number of the positions to be occupied, the candidates with the best results shall be deemed elected. If a winner cannot be determined due to an equal number of votes, the candidates shall immediately be re-voted upon until a winner is determined among them.
10. If all the vacancies are not filled as a result of voting, the rest of the candidates shall be put to vote again. If the vacancy still remains unfilled, the President of Georgia shall, within three days, submit 2 candidates to the Parliament of Georgia for each unfilled vacancy from the list of other candidates participating in the competition. If the vacancy is still not filled, a competition shall be announced for the rest of the vacancies within three days and the nomination procedure shall start over.
11. The same candidate may be nominated only twice.
12. If the term of office of a CEC member elected by the Parliament of Georgia terminates early, for the purpose of electing his/her substitute, the President of Georgia shall, during the nearest session week of the Parliament of Georgia, submit once again to the Parliament of Georgia the names of candidates receiving not less than a majority of votes of the MPs of Georgia, or shall announce a competition not later than three days. The same procedure shall apply if such candidates do not exist.
13. A resolution of the Parliament of Georgia regarding the election of a CEC member shall be submitted to the CEC within seven days after its adoption.
Article 13 - Procedure for appointing and terminating the term of office of CEC members by parties
1. Seven members of the CEC shall be appointed by parties as defined in this article.
2. Each member of the CEC shall be appointed by the political unions that receive funds from the State Budget according to Article 30 of the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Unions of Citizens.
3. If the number of the parties under the second paragraph of this article is more than 7, each CEC member shall be appointed by 7 parties receiving more funding than others. If several parties have equal funding, the party having the best results in the election shall have priority. If parties united in one electoral bloc receive equal funding, the party being ahead in the list of bloc members shall have priority.
4. If the number of the parties under the second paragraph of this article is less than 7, it shall be filled up to 7 with the subsequent parties having the best results (based on the descending order of the votes received), which ran in the election independently or were united in an electoral bloc and were on the top of the list of bloc members (if the party named first refuses to appoint a commission member, that right shall be given to the second party, etc.), provided that they receive more than 3% of votes participating in the election. If the number of parties authorised to appoint commission members is not filled up to 7 after those procedures, all parties referred to in this paragraph, based on their election results, shall have the right to appoint one more commission member in order to fill up the number of members to 7.
5. If funding of any party from the State Budget of Georgia terminates or if another party receives more funding than the former, the powers of the commission member appointed by that party shall cease and the number of members shall be filled up to 7 with representative(s) of the party (parties) receiving more funding. If there is no such party or if that (those) party (parties) refuse(s) to appoint a member, the procedure defined in the sixth paragraph of this article shall be applied.
6. A party may withdraw the CEC member appointed by it. No such withdrawal shall take place during the period from the day of calling elections to the day of summing up the final election results. A party may appoint a new CEC member within the above period only in the case of resignation or death of the appointed member.
Organic Law of Georgia No 877 of 27 July 2013 – website, 20.8.2013
Article 14 - Powers of the CEC
1. The CEC shall:
a) ensure the conduct of elections, referenda, and plebiscites within its powers, oversee the process of implementation of the electoral legislation throughout the territory of Georgia, and ensure its uniform application;
b) adopt by ordinance the regulations of the Electoral Administration;
c) in exceptional cases, if it is impossible to meet certain requirements/terms defined in this Law, have the right to determine by ordinance electoral events and time frames for upcoming elections/polling, as well as to submit a proposal, if necessary, to the President of Georgia for fixing another date of elections according to this Law;
d) determine by decree the conditions and procedures for giving appropriate information to accused/convicted persons eligible to vote in penitentiary institutions;
e) establish by decree electoral districts and specify their boundaries;
f) where necessary, to solve the issues defined by this Law, have the right to create a special group by decree adopted by at least two-thirds of the total number of members, define the powers and the term of the group;
g) if any lower election commission does not or cannot fulfill the obligations under the legislation of Georgia, have the right to terminate the powers of the commission by decree adopted by at least two-thirds of the total number of members and create an interim group to be responsible for exercising the powers until a new commission is established;
h) determine by decree a schedule for electoral events according to the time frames defined by this Law;
i) call by decree extraordinary elections, re-run elections, by-elections, repeat voting, and second round of elections;
j) on its own initiative or based on an application/complaint, under the procedure determined in this Law for resolution of electoral disputes, verify the legality of decisions and acts of election commissions and their officials, and if any violation is identified, cancel or change the decisions and acts by its decree; decide by decree on opening of packages from the respective PEC and re-counting of ballot papers/lists of voters. If ballot papers are re-counted, the CEC shall notify thereof all the electoral subjects and observer organisations whose representatives attended the counting of ballot papers at an electoral precinct, and shall ensure, upon request, the attendance of their representatives at the re-counting process.
k) based on summary protocols of polling results of DECs and PECs, giving consideration to the final decision of the court about violations of the electoral legislation of Georgia, determine the results of elections for the Parliaments of Georgia (under party lists), elections for the President of Georgia, elections for the Tbilisi Sakrebulo, elections for the Mayor of Tbilisi, referenda/plebiscites, for which a CEC summary protocol of election results shall be drawn up;
l) grant by decree an election/referendum/plebiscite observer status to a non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entity defined in this Law, as well as to an international organisation, an organisation registered in another country, and a group of representatives of government agencies of another country;
m) determine by ordinance the procedure for distributing and utilizing state funds allocated for holding elections, referenda, and plebiscites;
n) determine by decree the form of election/referendum/plebiscite ballot papers; texts of ballot papers for parliamentary elections of Georgia, presidential elections of Georgia, mayoral and Sakrebulo elections of Tbilisi, and for referenda/plebiscites; types of election boxes, election envelopes, and election commission seals; types of electoral documents that are not covered by this Law but are essential for organizing elections;
o) be accountable to the Parliament of Georgia and submit a report to it within 60 days after summarising results of each election;
p) ensure computer processing of polling/election results received from DECs and provide their immediate posting on the CEC website, and if a decision is made according to subparagraph (j) of this paragraph, post the decision on the CEC website as well;
q) manage the activities of DECs and hear their reports from time to time;
r) ensure publication of information materials on its official website and their distribution;
s) adopt by ordinance the regulations for certification of Electoral Administration officers and competitions for selecting CEC staff members and DEC members;
t) ensure monitoring of training conducted by LEPL Center for Electoral Systems Development, Reforms, and Training;
u) consider election-related applications and complaints as determined by this Law, and make appropriate decisions within its authority;
v) be responsible for creating a unified list of voters, for its computer processing, and for posting on the CEC official website the information designated as public (first name, last name; photo; date of birth; address as specified in the identity card of a citizen of Georgia; for internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the occupied territories of Georgia – an actual address as well; for individuals registered without indication of address, individuals removed from registration according to the place of residence and those whose registration has been declared invalid by decision of the Agency – the address of their actual residence; the date of registration of a voter in the unified list of voters). The lists of voters belonging to ethnic minorities in the electoral precinct shall also be posted on the CEC official website during the election period in the language that they understand;
w) determine by ordinance additional rule for making a unified list of voters and polling procedures;
x) approve by decree a staff list and cost estimation based on the recommendation of the CEC Chairperson;
y) approve by ordinance the procedures and conditions for special training of PEC members;
z) determine by decree the form for reporting on expenses related to DEC elections/referenda;
z1) maintain database for the election commission members who violated the electoral legislation of Georgia and the violation was confirmed by court, who were dismissed from the Electoral Administration office by an election commission or court for violating the electoral legislation of Georgia, and who were imposed disciplinary liability measures for culpable non-performance or improper performance of their official duties;
z2) approve by ordinance the regulations of LEPL Center for Electoral Systems Development, Reforms, and Trainings;
z3) adopt by ordinance the Code of Ethics for the Electoral Administration officers;
z4) approve by decree a budget statement of the Electoral Administration of Georgia for the next year;
z5) approve by decree strategic and annual action plans of the Electoral Administration of Georgia;
z6) determine by decree the conditions and procedures for the conduct of elections in the Armed Forces units of Georgia dislocated abroad;
z7) approve by decree an additional procedure for completing and checking the list of supporters;
z8) determine by decree a minimum number of signatures of supporters for the candidates nominated by an initiative group of voters;
z9) exercise other powers granted by this Law.
2. All CEC ordinances shall be published in the Legislative Herald of Georgia (‘Saqartvelos Sakanonmdeblo Matsne’) and may also be published through other media. CEC ordinances relating to the issues defined in paragraph 1(f-l) of this article shall be published within three days after they are adopted.
3. The CEC may adopt ordinances on the issues falling within its authority, and regarding the election and other procedures that are not covered by this Law and/or other legislative acts.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 3562 of 1 May 2015 – website, 18.5.2015
Article 15 - Powers of the CEC Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, and Secretary
1. The CEC Chairperson shall be the senior official of the Electoral Administration of Georgia.
2. The CEC Chairperson shall:
a) perform all administrative duties in the CEC;
b) preside over CEC sessions;
c) administer CEC funds;
d) under this Law, register parties and electoral blocs running in elections, as well as initiative groups of voters (for the election of the President of Georgia) and their representatives to the CEC;
e) register candidates for President of Georgia, party lists, and candidates for Mayor of Tbilisi;
f) issue respective certificates to the representatives of parties and electoral blocs running in elections, and to the representatives of initiative groups of voters (for the election of the President of Georgia);
g) issue respective certificates to candidates for President of Georgia and candidates for Mayor of Tbilisi;
h) issue respective certificates to the elected President of Georgia, the MPs of Georgia, the Mayor of Tbilisi, the Tbilisi Sakrebulo members; in the case of pre-term termination of office of an MP of Georgia or a member of the Tbilisi Sakrebulo, issue respective certificates to their successors;
i) furnish the Interim Credentials Commission of a newly elected Parliament of Georgia with all documents necessary for verifying the powers of elected MPs, and after setting up the respective Standing Committee, furnish the Standing Committee with the same documents;
j) exercise other powers granted by the electoral legislation of Georgia;
k) except for the issues falling within the authority of the CEC as defined by law, based on an order of the CEC Chairperson, assign administrative and financial duties to the head of a CEC structural unit for a particular period;
l) give assignments to the Deputy Chairperson, Secretary, other members and employees of the CEC staff according to the regulations of the Electoral Administration.
3. The CEC Deputy Chairperson shall:
a) perform duties assigned to the CEC Chairperson if the CEC does not have a Chairperson or the Chairperson is unable to perform his/her duties;
b) exercise certain powers of the CEC Chairperson by a decree of the CEC Chairperson and with the CEC consent (the decree shall clearly specify scopes and terms of assigned powers).
4. The CEC Secretary shall:
a) distribute all electoral documents and correspondence submitted and addressed to the CEC;
b) register the representatives of an electoral bloc/party independently running in elections for the Parliament of Georgia and for local self-government, as well as the representatives of a party and an initiative group of voters nominating the candidate for President of Georgia (for presidential elections of Georgia) to DECs and issue respective certificates thereto;
c) register observers appointed in the CEC by a non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entity/international organisation with a status of election/referendum/plebiscite observer, register observers sent by the state bodies of another country, and issue observer certificates to them;
d) accredit representatives of the media and issue accreditation cards to them by decree;
e) draft summary protocols of election results;
f) exercise other powers granted by the electoral legislation of Georgia.
Article 16 - The CEC staff
1. The CEC staff shall ensure organisational, legal, and technical support of elections and referenda.
2. The CEC regulations shall determine the structure, rules of operation, and powers of the CEC staff.
3. An Electoral Administration officer (except for the commission members appointed by a party as defined in this Law) shall have limited involvement in party activities.
4. The CEC staff may not employ those who do not hold certificates of an Electoral Administration officer issued by the CEC, except for assisting and technical personnel, as well as office employees from the agencies, the activities of which are not directly linked with the electoral procedures. The CEC shall determine by ordinance the list of such agencies and personnel.
Article 17 - Legal Entity under Public Law (LEPL) - Center for Electoral System Development, Reform, and Training
1. The Center for Electoral System Development, Reform, and Training (‘the Training Center’) is a legal entity under public law established on the basis of the Election Code. Powers of the Training Center shall be defined in the legislation of Georgia and the regulations of the Training Center.
2. The CEC shall exercise state control over the Training Center.
3. The following shall be the duties of the Training Center:
a) support electoral reforms;
b) draft, within its authority, proposals and recommendations for the improvement of electoral systems;
c) train and ensure professional development of Electoral Administration personnel and other interested individuals through close cooperation with local and international organisations;
d) exercise duties of the Fund provided for by Article 301 of the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Unions of Citizens;
e) provide certification of Electoral Administration officers as defined in a CEC ordinance;
f) conduct election monitoring within its competence.
4. The CEC Chairperson shall, with the consent of the CEC, appoint and dismiss the head of the Training Center. The CEC shall express its consent by decree.
Article 18 - Electoral districts
The CEC shall determine electoral districts, their boundaries, names, and numbers as determined by this Law.
Article 19 - Setting up of DECs
1. A DEC is a standing territorial body of the Electoral Administration of Georgia. The CEC shall set up DECs by a majority of the total number of CEC members. A DEC has an official seal with its name on it, stamp, independent balance sheet, and settlement and current bank accounts. The DEC chairperson and accountant are responsible for the DEC expenditure authorised by the CEC. A DEC may spend funds allocated for elections from any account opened with any commercial bank and/or its branch office.
2. The CEC may set up by decree at least 1 DEC in one or more self-governing units and 10 DECs in Tbilisi.
3. The DEC chairperson/member shall be elected for a term of five years, while the tenure of a DEC member elected by the CEC following the announcement of an election under the fifth paragraph of this article shall be determined for a period starting with their appointment and ending with the announcement of final results of the respective elections.
4. Five members of a DEC shall be elected for a five year-term by a majority vote of the total members of the CEC.
5. After announcing an election, 7 members of a DEC shall be appointed by the parties under Article 13 of this Law and 1 member shall be appointed by a majority vote of the total members of the CEC for a period ending with the announcement of final results of the respective elections.
6. The decision of a party on the appointment of a DEC member shall be submitted to the CEC within seven calendar days after calling elections. If the authorised parties fail to appoint DEC members within the time frame determined in this paragraph, the CEC may fill the number of DEC members to 13 on the day following the expiration of the time frame as determined by this Law.
7. A DEC shall elect head officers from among its members by a majority vote of the total number of DEC members.
8. A DEC shall not be placed in the same building where the state trustee – the Governor’s Administration, the local self-governing body – Sakrebulo or Gamgeoba, a political party, court, a police division, or a division of the State Security Service of Georgia are located.
81. A party, or election headquarters of a party/electoral bloc/initiative group may not be located in the building where a DEC is located.
9. A DEC may hire as many assisting and technical personnel (except for an accountant) as determined by CEC decree after announcing an election until to the end of it.
10. A DEC may hire as many accountants as provided for by the ninth paragraph of this article until the end of the procedures defined in Article 53(5) of this Law.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 3973 of 8 July 2015 – website, 15.7.2015
Article 20 - Procedures for appointing/electing DEC members/head officers
1. A DEC shall consist of 13 members appointed/elected by the subjects defined by this Law under the procedure and within the time frame defined in this Law.
2. If there is a respective vacancy, a DEC shall elect DEC head officers at the first session from among the commission members, for the term of membership, by a majority vote of the total number of members, through roll-call voting.
3. Not less than 2 members of the commission shall have the right to nominate candidates for DEC chairperson, deputy chairperson, and secretary.
4. The same candidate may be nominated only twice.
5. If a DEC fails to elect a head officer within the established time frame, the commission member who receives the most votes during elections shall perform the duties of the head officer until he/she is elected; and in the case of equal votes, the person elected by casting lots shall perform the duties of the head officer.
6. The CEC shall issue a decree for the conduct of competition not later than 60 days before the term of office of a DEC member expires or not later than three days after his/her term of office terminates early.
7. The CEC shall elect a DEC member not earlier than 20 and not later than 10 days before the term of office of the DEC member expires. The DEC head officers shall be elected within the same time frame.
8. If the term of office of a DEC member elected by the CEC terminates early, the CEC shall elect the substitute within 15 days (and within seven days after announcing Election Day). The DEC head officers shall be elected within the same time frame if their term of office terminates early.
9. The term of office of one DEC member appointed by the CEC under Article 19(5) of this Law, and the term of office of commission members appointed by parties under Article 13 of this Law shall cease immediately after the final results of elections are announced.
10. Candidates for DEC membership shall be selected by open competition.
11. Candidates for DEC membership shall be non-partisan persons with higher education, fluent in the official language of Georgia, and holding a certificate of an Electoral Administration officer.
12. Any capable citizen of Georgia, who has attained the age of 21 and who meets the requirements of this Law, may participate in a competition. The deadline for submission of competition documents shall be as follows:
a) if the term of office expires - within 14 days after the competition is announced;
b) if the term of office terminates early - within 10 days after the competition is announced, and if elections are called - within two days after the competition is announced.
13. A competition application shall specify: first name and last name, education (higher), occupation, scientific degree (if any), address (according to a Georgian citizen’s identity card (registration certificate)), work place and position, contact address and telephone number (if any) of a candidate, number and name of an electoral district, in which the candidate wants to become a DEC member. The candidate shall sign the application and shall enclose with it:
a) two photos
b) a copy of a Georgian citizen’s identity card (registration certificate)
c) a copy of a document of higher education of the candidate (scientific degree, if any)
d) a copy of a certificate of an Electoral Administration officer
e) employment record and description of the election-related experience of the candidate (if any).
14. If the submitted documents are inconsistent with the requirements provided for by this article, the CEC Chairperson shall notify the candidate of it (specifying the discrepancy) within two days. The corrected documents shall be returned to the CEC within two days, but not later than the registration deadline.
15. The CEC shall publish the list of candidates on its official website after the deadline for receiving documents expires.
16. The CEC shall elect DEC members by a roll-call vote. Each candidate shall be voted on separately. A person supported by a majority vote of the total number of CEC members shall be deemed elected. If the number of elected candidates exceeds the number of available vacancies, candidates with the most votes shall be elected. If the winner cannot be determined due to an equal number of votes received by some candidates, the candidates shall be put to a vote immediately in order to determine the winner. If a winner is still not determined, he/she shall be determined by casting lots. If all the vacancies are not filled after polling, the rest of the candidates shall be put to a vote again. If all the vacancies are not yet filled, the competition for the rest of the vacancies shall be announced once again.
17. The following subjects may not be elected/appointed as a DEC member:
a) a person who has not been granted the certificate of an Electoral Administration officer
b) a person dismissed from the position at the Electoral Administration by the election commission or a court for violating the electoral legislation of Georgia
c) a person who violated electoral legislation and the violation was confirmed by a court
d) a person who has been convicted of a crime (except when a fine is imposed as a sanction) and whose conviction has not been expunged
e) an electoral subject/candidate and his/her representative
f) an election observer.
18. If a person is elected/appointed as a DEC member, he/she shall, within seven days, meet the requirements defined by this Law for the restriction of activities and official incompatibility.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 21 - Powers of DECs
A DEC shall:
a) ensure, within its powers, the conduct of elections, referenda, and plebiscites, oversee the process of implementation of the electoral legislation of Georgia, and ensure its uniform application;
b) establish and specify by decree the boundaries of electoral precincts;
c) if a lower PEC is unable or fails to perform the duties assigned to it under the legislation of Georgia, have the right to request the CEC to suspend the powers of that commission by a majority decision of the total number of DEC members;
d) determine by decree the text of ballot papers for the election of local self-government bodies to be held in the electoral district;
e) based on an application/complaint (if the application/complaint is filed under the procedure and within the time frame determined by this Law) or on its own initiative, verify the legality of actions and decisions made by PECs and their officials (including the accuracy of registration of election participants, counting of ballot papers, etc.), and if violations are determined, make respective decisions (including changing of data in the PEC summary protocol of polling results after the verification or annul polling results in an electoral precinct). If the violation results in the replacement of an elected person in a single-seat district or in the replacement of any candidate running in the second round of elections, or in the replacement of persons elected in a multi-seat district (when holding elections for local self-government bodies), or in the change of a decision to declare elections held or to declare failure of elections (according to a majoritarian electoral district and during elections of local self-government bodies), and if such a verification is not sufficient for the DEC to establish the legality of the results, the DEC shall make a decision to declare polling results in the respective electoral precinct void and apply to the CEC for setting the date for a repeat vote. If the DEC decides to recount votes, it shall notify all electoral subjects and observer organisations, representatives of which attended the counting of ballot papers at an electoral precinct, and shall ensure, upon request, the attendance of their representatives at the re-counting process;
f) based on summary protocols of polling results of PECs, giving consideration to the final decision about violations of the electoral legislation of Georgia, summarize electoral district voting results of respective elections/referenda/plebiscites and draw up a summary protocol of polling results of the DEC;
g) based on summary protocols of polling results of PECs, taking into account the decision of a district/city court on violations of the electoral legislation of Georgia, determine the results of elections held under the majoritarian system in majoritarian electoral districts during elections for the Parliament of Georgia, in electoral districts during elections for local self-government bodies (except for the Tbilisi Sakrebulo elections) and during Mayoral/Gamgebeli elections of a self-governing city (except for Tbilisi)/community, and draw up a summary protocol of polling results of the DEC;
h) grant by decree the status of a domestic observer of elections/referenda/plebiscites to local non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities referred to in this Law;
i) ensure the conduct of extraordinary elections, re-run elections, repeat voting, and run-off elections;
j) ensure the release and publication of election-related information materials;
k) examine the election-related applications and complaints and make respective decisions within its powers;
l) facilitate the compiling of lists of voters as determined in this Law and ensure publicity thereof and accessibility thereto;
m) provide PEC members with workshops and training courses for professional development;
n) exercise other powers granted by this Law.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 22 - Powers of chairpersons, deputy chairpersons, and secretaries of DECs
1. The DEC chairperson shall:
a) perform full administrative duties at the DEC;
b) chair DEC sessions;
c) administer DEC funds;
d) give assignments to the deputy chairperson, secretary, other DEC members, and assisting and technical personnel according to the regulations of the Electoral Administration;
e) register initiative groups of voters, majoritarian candidates nominated in the electoral district by a party/electoral bloc/initiative group of voters. It shall also register party lists, and Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidates for elections of local self-government bodies (except for the Tbilisi Sakrebulo elections and Tbilisi Mayor elections);
f) issue respective certificates to candidates nominated by a party/electoral bloc/initiative group of voters;
g) issue relevant certificates to elected Sakrebulo members (except for Tbilisi Sakrebulo members) and if the term of office of the members is terminated, issue certificates to their successors, also to a Gamgebeli/Mayor (except for the Mayor of Tbilisi);
h) provide the CEC with all documents required for verification of powers of an elected Sakrebulo member, of a Mayor/Gamgebeli, also other electoral documents provided for by the electoral legislation of Georgia;
i) exercise other powers granted by the electoral legislation of Georgia.
2. The DEC deputy chairperson shall:
a) perform the duties of the DEC chairperson if the DEC does not have a chairperson or the DEC chairperson is unable to perform his/her duties;
b) exercise certain powers granted by a decree of the DEC chairperson (the decree shall clearly specify scopes and terms of powers).
3. The DEC secretary shall:
a) distribute electoral documents and correspondence submitted and addressed to the DEC;
b) register the representatives of an electoral bloc/initiative group of voters/party independently running in elections to PECs and issue respective certificates to them;
c) register observers appointed by a non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entity with an election/referendum observer status in DECs and PECs and issue observer certificates to them;
d) accredit the media representatives and issue accreditation cards to them by its decree;
e) draw up minutes of election commission sessions, including the summary protocols of polling and election results;
f) exercise other powers granted by the electoral legislation of Georgia.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 23 - Electoral precincts
1. To conduct polling and count votes, an electoral district shall be divided into electoral precincts.
2. An electoral precinct shall be set up for not less than 20 and not more than 1 500 voters. The respective DEC shall set up electoral precincts, define their boundaries and numbers not later than July 1 of the election year, and shall publish, within two days, the respective information about the boundaries of the electoral precincts. Based on the data of local self-government bodies, the DEC shall define and specify the list and addresses of the residential buildings within the area of the electoral precinct, also the list and addresses of all facilities that may be used by the Electoral Administration for election purposes. If extraordinary elections of the Parliament of Georgia are called, the electoral precincts shall be set up not later than 40 days before Election Day.
3. Information about the boundaries of electoral precincts, specifying the addresses of all residential buildings (if any), shall be posted inside the DEC building.
4. In exceptional cases (a military unit with more than 50 voters (military servicemen, officers, persons with a special rank of the Georgian Ministry for Defense), hospital, and other inpatient facility with more than 50 voters, etc.), an electoral precinct may be set up not later than the 15th day before the polling day. A hospital (inpatient facility) or a military unit with not more than 50 voters (patients, military servicemen) shall be assigned by DEC decree to the nearest electoral precinct. At the well-founded written request of the commander of a respective military unit and by DEC decree, an electoral precinct may be set up within the military unit, in which the number of voters does not exceed 50 military servicemen.
5. A relevant DEC shall specify the boundaries of electoral precincts, also the list and addresses of the buildings and structures referred to in the second paragraph of this article located within an electoral precinct not later than the 50th day before Election Day based on data and verification provided by the local self-government bodies acting in the territory of a self-governing city/community. The specified boundaries of electoral precincts shall be published immediately.
6. Electoral precincts within military units shall be set up under the procedure defined in this Law, according to the location of the military unit.
7. Electoral precincts abroad shall be set up by the CEC based on data provided by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Georgia, not later than the 30th day before Election Day, for not less than 20 and not more than 3 000 voters. The CEC shall summarize the results of the above electoral precincts in separate protocols.
8. A DEC shall, not later than the fifth day after setting up an electoral precinct, and within two days in the case provided for in the fourth paragraph of this article, publish on the CEC official website the numbers of electoral precincts, as well as addresses, telephone (fax) numbers, and other details of PECs.
Organic Law of Georgia No 901 of 29 July 2013 – website, 20.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 24 - Setting up of PECs
1. PECs shall be composed of 13 members appointed/elected by the subjects under this Law under the procedure and within the time frame defined by this Law.
2. A respective DEC shall elect 6 PEC members by a majority vote of the total number of DEC members.
3. The CEC shall elect 6 members of a PEC set up abroad by a majority vote of the total number of CEC members.
4. The subjects under this Law shall elect 7 PEC members as provided for by Article 13 of this Law.
5. The following subjects shall not be elected/appointed as PEC members:
a) a person dismissed from his/her position at the Electoral Administration of Georgia by the election commission or a court for violating the electoral legislation of Georgia;
b) a person who violated the electoral legislation of Georgia and the violation was confirmed by the court;
c) a person who has been convicted of a crime and whose conviction has not been expunged;
d) an MP of Georgia or the head of staff of the Parliament of Georgia;
e) ministers and deputy ministers of Georgia and the Autonomous Republics;
f) heads of departments and divisions of the ministries;
g) heads of local self-government representative and executive bodies – head of Sakrebulo, Gamgebeli (head of local municipality), Mayor, and their deputies;
h) military personnel, personnel serving under the Ministries of Internal Affairs, Defence, and Corrections of Georgia; officers of the State Security Service of Georgia and Georgian Intelligence Service, the Special State Protection Service of Georgia, and the Investigation Department of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia;
i) judges and their assistants;
j) employees of the Prosecutor’s Office;
k) electoral subjects/candidates and their representatives;
l) election observers.
6. A public servant may be appointed as a PEC member, except for persons listed in paragraph 5(d-j) of this article. The requirements for incompatibility of office set by the Law of Georgia on Public Service shall not apply to the public servant. While acting in the capacity of a PEC member, the term of office of a public servant shall be suspended at his/her permanent place of work, for which purpose he/she shall be granted, as provided for by law, an unpaid leave or his/her paid leave at his/her request.
Organic Law of Georgia No 1788 of 13 December 2013 – website, 28.12.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 3973 of 8 July 2015 – website, 15.7.2015
Article 25 - Procedure for appointing/electing PEC members and head officers
1. If there is a vacancy for a PEC chairperson, deputy chairperson, or secretary, the PEC shall elect the PEC chairperson, deputy chairperson, and secretary at the first session from among the commission members, for the term of membership, by a majority vote of the total number of members, by a roll-call vote. Not less than 2 members shall have the right to nominate a candidate. At the same time, PEC head officers may not be the representatives of the same electoral subject.
2. If a PEC fails to elect its chairperson, deputy chairperson, or secretary within the established time frame, the commission member who receives the most votes during elections shall perform the duties of the chairperson, deputy chairperson, and secretary until he/she is elected; and in the case of equal votes, the person determined by casting lots shall perform the duties of the chairperson, deputy chairperson, and secretary.
3. The same candidate may be nominated only twice.
4. A DEC shall elect 6 PEC members not earlier than the 50th day and not later than the 46th day before Election Day, except for the extraordinary elections for the President of Georgia. In this case, the DEC shall elect 6 PEC members not earlier than the 38th day and not later than the 36th day before Election Day. Members of the PEC set up in exceptional cases shall be elected not earlier than the 10th day and not later than the 9th day before Election Day.
5. The CEC shall elect 6 members of the PEC set up abroad not earlier than the 24th day and not later than the 20th day before Election Day.
6. The decision of the party authorised under Article 24(4) of this Law regarding the appointment of a PEC member shall be submitted to the respective DEC not earlier than the 50th day and not later than the 46th day before Election Day, except for the extraordinary presidential elections. In this case, the decision of an authorised party regarding the appointment of a PEC member shall be submitted to the respective DEC not earlier than the 14th day and not later than the 9th day before Election Day; and for a commission operating outside the country, the same decision shall be submitted to the CEC after setting up the PEC, not later than the 20th day before Election Day.
7. The respective DEC shall publish the list of PEC members on the official CEC website not later than the 29th day before Election Day, and the list of members of an election commission set up in exceptional cases - not later than the 5th day before Election Day; the CEC shall publish the list of members of a commission set up abroad not later than the 10th day before Election Day.
8. If on the 30th day, and for the commissions set up in exceptional cases, on the eighth day, and for the commissions operating abroad, on the 19th day before Election Day there are less members in the PEC than required, the higher DEC (in the first two cases) and the CEC (in the third case) may elect commission members within three days from among the competing candidates or by announcing another competition. The CEC shall determine the procedure, conditions, and terms of the competition for PEC membership candidates by its decree.
9. The decision of an authorised party about withdrawal of a PEC member or appointment of his/her legal successor shall be submitted to the respective PEC and the higher DEC, and for the commissions operating abroad, the decision shall be submitted to the CEC.
10. If a party authorised to appoint the legal successor of a commission member fails to exercise this right after the term of office of the commission member terminates early, or if the term of office of a commission member elected by a DEC or the CEC terminates early and because of this there are fewer members in the commission than required, the DEC or the CEC may appoint a new candidate within five days after the deadline for nominating new candidates expire.
11. The CEC and DEC shall elect PEC members by roll-call vote. Each candidate shall be voted on separately. A person who is supported by a majority vote of the total number of the commission members shall be deemed elected. If the number of elected candidates exceeds the number of available vacancies, candidates with the most votes shall be elected. If the winner cannot be determined due to the equal number of votes received by some candidates, the candidates shall be put to a vote immediately to determine the winner. If a winner is still not determined, he/she shall be determined by casting lots. If all the vacancies are not filled after polling, the CEC shall make an appropriate decision.
12. A decision about the election/appointment of a PEC member shall indicate the first name and last name of the elected/appointed member, also the number of the PEC to which the candidate has been elected/appointed. A party decision on the appointment of a PEC member shall indicate the contact address and telephone number of the appointed commission member. A copy of the Georgian citizen’s identity card of the appointed commission member shall be attached to the decision.
13. A candidate shall not be deemed a member of the commission if the deadlines for submission of respective documents defined in this article are not met and/or the documents submitted are incomplete or inaccurate, and if the deficiency in documents is not corrected within the time frame referred to in this paragraph. If the submitted documents do not meet the requirement defined by this article, the CEC or DEC chairperson shall, within two days, inform (specifying the discrepancy) the person who elected/appointed the commission member. Corrected documents shall be re-submitted to the respective DEC or the CEC within three days.
14. The term of office of a PEC member shall commence at the first session of the PEC and shall terminate upon drawing up of the summary protocol of polling results in the respective DEC.
15. (Deleted – 25.7.2013, No 864)
16. (Deleted – 25.7.2013, No 864)
17. (Deleted – 25.7.2013, No 864)
18. (Deleted – 25.7.2013, No 864)
19. (Deleted – 25.7.2013, No 864)
20. The term of office of a PEC member shall terminate upon election of his/her substitute commission member.
21. The first session of a newly set up PEC shall be held not later than the 30th day before the general election day. In exceptional cases and in electoral precincts set up abroad, the first PEC session shall be held not later than the third day after the commission is set up. The relevant DEC chairperson shall call the first PEC session. An exception is the PEC set up abroad, the first session of which shall be called by the CEC Chairperson.
Organic Law of Georgia No 6571 of 28 June 2012 – website, 28.6.2012
Organic Law of Georgia No 864 of 25 July 2013 – website, 19.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 26 - Powers of PECs
1. A PEC is an interim territorial body of the Electoral Administration of Georgia, which is composed of the subjects referred to in Article 24 of this Law, officials appointed/elected by the CEC and the higher DEC.
2. A PEC shall:
a) within its powers, ensure the conduct of elections, referenda, and plebiscites in an electoral precinct, the implementation of the electoral legislation of Georgia, the compliance of the procedures under the electoral legislation of Georgia during polling, the exercise and the protection of the rights of voters, representatives, and observers guaranteed by the Constitution of Georgia and this Law;
b) verify the accuracy of the lists of voters, review complaints related to the lists of voters and if errors and inaccuracies are identified, apply to the higher DEC, not later than the following day, for making changes to the lists;
c) based on applications and complaints of voters, draw up a mobile ballot box list;
d) determine polling results at the PEC and draw up a summary protocol of polling results;
e) have the right to bring up a question to the higher DEC, by decision of a majority of the total number of its members, for declaring polling results void;
f) distribute voter invitation cards among voters;
g) be responsible for the posting of information under the electoral legislation of Georgia in electoral precincts, for the proper preparation of the place where polling and ballot counting are to be conducted, and ensure the observance of order at the precinct;
h) on the polling day, review applications and complaints related to electoral process and polling preparation process and make respective decisions within its powers;
i) guarantee the unconditional exercise of suffrage for voters on the polling day and assume full responsibility for the protection of those rights;
j) cancel decisions made by the PEC chairperson regarding temporary closure of the polling station, cessation of the polling process, reopening of the polling station, and continuation of polling following its closure;
k) exercise other powers granted by the electoral legislation of Georgia.
3. All decrees issued by a PEC and its chairperson shall be posted at the electoral precinct on the following day.
Article 27 - Powers of chairpersons, deputy chairpersons, and secretaries of PECs
1. The PEC chairperson shall:
a) perform full administrative duties at the PEC;
b) chair PEC sessions;
c) receive and distribute electoral documents and correspondence submitted and addressed to the PEC;
d) assume personal responsibility for the storage and purposeful distribution of ballot papers, special envelopes, commission seals, summary protocols, and other electoral documents;
e) give assignments to the deputy chairperson, secretary and other members of the commission according to the regulations of the Electoral Administration;
f) organize the distribution of duties among commission members on the polling day by casting lots.
g) be responsible for keeping order inside the polling station and in the vicinity on the polling day;
h) not allow persons authorised to be present at the polling station without wearing appropriate badges;
i) submit all electoral documents to the higher DEC after polling results are summarised;
j) exercise other powers granted by the electoral legislation of Georgia.
2. The PEC deputy chairperson shall:
a) perform the duties of the PEC chairperson if the PEC does not have a chairperson or the PEC chairperson is unable to perform his/her duties;
b) exercise certain powers granted by a decree of the PEC chairperson (the decree shall clearly specify scopes and terms of the powers).
3. The PEC secretary shall:
a) draft the PEC decrees;
b) be responsible for the release of public information;
c) draw up minutes of PEC sessions, including summary protocols of polling results;
d) exercise other powers granted by this Law.
4. If PEC members fail to fulfill the requirements defined by this Law, disciplinary measures provided for by Article 28(1)(2) shall be imposed on them.
Article 28 - Disciplinary liability measures against PEC and DEC members
1. The following shall constitute disciplinary misconduct by DEC and PEC members:
a) culpable non-performance or improper performance of official duties
b) inflicting or culpably threatening to inflict property damage to the Electoral Administration of Georgia
c) absence at work without a good reason
d) having missed 3 consecutive PEC sessions without a good reason
e) gross violation of the electoral legislation of Georgia and the respective election commission regulations
f) refusal to perform the mandatory signing of summary protocols of polling and election results.
2. The respective higher DEC may apply the following disciplinary measures against DEC and PEC members for any disciplinary misconduct:
a) verbal warning
b) written warning
c) withholding salary/part of salary
d) early termination of powers (except for members appointed by parties).
3. Only one disciplinary measure may be applied for one incident of misconduct.
4. The respective higher election commission shall apply simple administrative proceedings under the General Administrative Code of Georgia for imposing disciplinary measures against DEC and PEC members. Disciplinary measures imposed on an election commission member shall be appropriate to the gravity of the disciplinary misconduct committed by the commission member.
Organic Law of Georgia No 864 of 25 July 2013 – website, 19.8.2013
Article 29 - Early termination of tenure of election commission members/head officers
1. The tenure of CEC Chairperson/member shall terminate early by a resolution of the Parliament of Georgia (except for the CEC members appointed by parties referred to in Article 13 and other cases defined by this Law), and for DEC or PEC members – by a decree of the higher election commission (except as provided for by the sixth paragraph of this article and Article 13 of this Law), provided that:
a) an election commission member fails, within seven days after his/her election, to cease activities and/or office that is incompatible with the commission member status;
b) an election commission member takes over a position incompatible with the commission member status under this Law;
c) the fact that an activity is incompatible with the status of the election commission member has been disclosed;
d) the data specified in the documents submitted for membership competition is inaccurate - from the day of the disclosure;
e) a member fails to fulfill the duties and powers of the CEC or DEC chairperson/member for two consecutive months or has not attended 3 consecutive sessions of the CEC or DEC without a good reason;
f) there is a guilty verdict of a court, or an election commission member violates the electoral legislation of Georgia and the violation is confirmed by a court – in the case of the entry into force of a court decision;
g) an election commission member is withdrawn by the party that appointed him/her as determined by this Law - in the case of the filing of an application for withdrawal;
h) the status of an election commission member, as a voter, is cancelled;
i) there are cases of systematic or gross violation of the electoral legislation of Georgia, regulations of the Electoral Administration, or there are other respective basis under the Law of Georgia on Public Service.
2. If the election commission chairperson, deputy chairperson, commission secretary is resigned:
a) an application of resignation of the CEC Chairperson shall be submitted to the Parliament of Georgia;
b) an application of resignation of the CEC Deputy Chairperson and Secretary shall be submitted to the CEC;
c) an application of resignation of DEC or PEC chairperson, deputy chairperson, secretary shall be submitted to the respective election commission.
3. The CEC Chairperson shall be dismissed early by a resolution of the Parliament of Georgia, and the CEC Deputy Chairperson, Secretary, DEC or PEC chairperson, deputy chairperson, and secretary shall be dismissed early by a decree of the respective election commission.
4. In the case of death of an elected CEC member, the Parliament of Georgia shall note that fact and include it in the plenary session protocol of the Parliament of Georgia. In the case of death of an elected DEC member, the CEC shall note that information and include it in the CEC session protocol.
5. Dismissal of an election commission chairperson, deputy chairperson, and secretary on the same grounds, also an application for early termination of tenure of an election commission member twice in a row within six months shall be prohibited.
6. The tenure of election commission members appointed by parties under the first paragraph of this article (except as provided in paragraph 1(g) of this article and Article 13 of this Law) shall terminate early by a court decision.
7. If one of the grounds referred to in the first paragraph of this article exists, the Parliament of Georgia shall discuss and decide upon the resignation, early termination of tenure of the election commission chairperson, deputy chairperson, or secretary within 15 days, or within five days when the decision is made by an authorised election commission. A decision shall be made according to the same procedure as applied during the election process.
8. Unless an application of resignation/early termination of powers is satisfied within the time frame provided for by this article, the election commission chairperson, deputy chairperson, or secretary shall be deemed to have resigned, and the tenure of the election commission member shall be deemed automatically terminated from the day following the expiration of the above time frame.
9. An election commission member may not be withdrawn within 15 days before polling day.
Article 30 - Legal acts of the Electoral Administration of Georgia
1. Legal acts of the Electoral Administration of Georgia shall be:
a) an ordinance and a decree of the CEC, an order and a decree of the CEC Chairperson, a decree of the CEC Secretary, a summary protocol of polling results of the CEC
b) a DEC decree, a decree of the commission chairperson, a decree of the commission secretary, a summary protocol of polling and election results of a DEC
c) a PEC decree, a decree of the commission chairperson, a summary protocol of polling results of a PEC.
2. A CEC ordinance is a subordinate normative act that may be passed only in cases directly defined by law. An ordinance may also be passed in exceptional cases, from the commencement until the end of elections, if it becomes necessary to resolve issues that are not covered by this Law but are required for holding elections. A manual, describing separate electoral procedures, may be adopted by an ordinance, which shall not contain standards that are new or different from the standards defined in this Law but may contain detailed description of the procedures determined by this Law.
3. A CEC ordinance shall be deemed adopted if supported by at least two-thirds of the total number of CEC members. An ordinance shall be signed by the Chairperson and Secretary of the respective CEC session. A CEC ordinance shall enter into force immediately after its publication in the Legislative Herald of Georgia (‘Saqartvelos Sakanonmdeblo Matsne’), unless a later date is defined by the ordinance. A CEC ordinance shall not be adopted later than four days before polling day. A CEC ordinance may be appealed from the moment of its adoption. A CEC ordinance shall be placed on the CEC website within 24 hours following its adoption.
4. Decrees of an election commission, its chairperson, and secretary, summary protocols of polling results are individual administrative-legal acts adopted/issued in cases and within the scope defined in this Law and CEC ordinance. Commission decrees shall be signed by the chairperson of a respective commission session and the commission secretary, while other decrees shall be signed by the issuing official. Summary protocols shall be signed by authorised officers as defined in this Law. A commission decree shall be deemed adopted, unless other quorum is identified by this Law, if it is supported by a majority of those present at the session, but not less than one-third of all members of the commission.
5. An order of the CEC Chairperson is an individual legal act issued with regard to intra-agency issues including human resources.
6. Implementation of decisions of the CEC, DEC, PEC, and their member officials within their powers shall be mandatory respectively throughout the territory of Georgia, the electoral district, and the electoral precinct.
Chapter III - Lists of Voters
Article 31 - Unified list of voters and its formation procedure
1. The unified list of voters shall be a list of individuals having active suffrage and registered under the procedure defined by the legislation of Georgia and shall be divided by electoral precincts.
2. The unified list of voters shall include the following data of voters:
a) first and last name
b) date of birth (day, month, year)
c) address (according to a Georgian citizen’s identity card or the Agency database)
d) personal number of a citizen of Georgia
e) actual place of residence (for IDPs from the occupied territories of Georgia or for individuals registered without an indication of address, for individuals removed from registration according to their place of residence, as well as for individuals whose registration has been declared invalid by a decision of the Agency, a temporary place of residence shall be indicated; for individuals living abroad, ‘on a consular registry’ shall be indicated, and, if individuals living abroad are not on a consular registry of Georgia, ‘staying abroad’ shall be indicated)
f) date of entering in the unified list of voters
g) photo (the latest digital photo available in the electronic database of the Agency)
h) sex.
3. All data shall be entered in the unified list of voters according to the place of their registration. IDPs from the occupied regions of Georgia shall be entered in the unified list of voters according to their actual place of residence.
4. The CEC shall be responsible for creation of a unified list of voters, its computer processing, and posting on the official CEC website of the information designated as public (first name, last name; photo; date of birth; address according to the Georgian citizen’s identity card or according to the Agency database, also, an address of actual place of residence - for internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the occupied territories of Georgia, for individuals registered without an indication of address, individuals removed from registration according to their place of residence and for those whose registration has been declared invalid by a decision of the Agency; the date of registration of a voter in the unified list of voters).
5. The unified list of voters shall be drawn up based on the data:
a) held in the Agency database on the persons registered in their respective territories according to their place of residence, including the data on the persons who will have reached the age of 18 by Election Day, also based on the data of deceased persons. The unified list of voters shall not contain the data of persons whose identity documents last issued to them have been cancelled due to falsification or invalidation, or who have not obtained a valid ID card or passport of a Georgian citizen by the time of the current elections, unless those persons register at the Agency not later than the 11th day before Election Day;
b) communicated by the local self-government bodies about deceased individuals whose relatives have not applied to the Agency for a death certificate, also based on data received about changes to street and house names/numbers;
c) communicated by the Ministry for Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia and/or its territorial agencies about IDPs from the occupied territories of Georgia;
d) communicated by the Ministry of Defence of Georgia about the military personnel of fixed-term and contract services of the military forces and units; by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, the State Security Service of Georgia and the Georgian Intelligence Service, and the Special State Protection Service about the military personnel of fixed-term and contract services; and by the Ministry of Corrections of Georgia about the personnel of the Special Penitentiary Service whose service conditions require their presence at an address different from their place of registration and which falls within another electoral district;
e) communicated by the heads of consular offices of Georgia about the voters on a consular registry of Georgia;
f) communicated by the Legal Entity under Public Law – the Social Service Agency about persons who have been declared as beneficiaries of support by the court and who have been placed at an inpatient psychiatric facility under the Law of Georgia on Psychiatric Assistance;
g) communicated by the Ministry for Corrections of Georgia about persons who have been imprisoned as a preventive measure, who have been sentenced to deprivation of liberty for crimes of less gravity, also those who have been sentenced to deprivation of liberty for grave and/or especially grave crimes but who will be released from a penitentiary institution on Election Day due to the expiration of their sentence.
6. In order for the CEC to update a unified list of voters and the electronic database of the list:
a) the agencies referred to in subparagraphs (a-c) of this article shall submit updated or new data to the CEC on eligible voters four times a year - on 1 February, 1 May, 15 July, and 1 November of each year while the agencies listed in subparagraphs (f) and (g) of the same paragraph shall submit updated or new data to the CEC on persons having no voting rights within the same time frames.
b) state/autonomous republic and local self-government bodies shall, within the scope of their authority, inform the CEC and the Agency within 10 days after making a decision to give a name to geographical objects – self-governing units, settlements, administrative units of a self-governing city, historically formed neighbourhoods, micro-districts, other territorial units, squares, avenues, highways, streets, lanes, cul-de-sacs, passages, embankments, esplanades, boulevards, and alleys.
7. A party or an electoral bloc having gone through the electoral registration, observer organisations, and voters defined in Article 39 of this Law shall have the right to access the version of the lists of voters available in the CEC, DECs or PECs that are designated as public information (a voter may request all data available only about himself/herself and members of his/her family and may amend it) and in the case of any discrepancy, to request amendments to the data of voters and the lists of voters not later than 16 days before Election Day, or during a non-election period – at any time. The data shall be published and copies shall be provided as defined by the legislation of Georgia for accessibility to and release of public information.
71. A public version of the unified list of voters with photos shall be released to the persons indicated in the seventh paragraph of this article only in electronic form. To obtain the list, an authorised person shall present to the Agency an electronic storage device with adequate storage capacity.
8. During elections, the Electoral Administration shall verify the lists of voters. A DEC shall review the verification results and make respective decisions within two calendar days after filing an application, but not later than 14 days before Election Day. A decree issued by the same commission about the refusal to amend the data of voters/the lists of voters shall be well-founded and submitted to an applicant on the day following its publication, upon request.
9. A DEC decree for making amendments to the data of voters/the lists of voters shall be submitted to the CEC and respective PEC within two days.
10. A DEC decree about the refusal to amend the data of voters/the lists of voters may be appealed to any respective district/city court within two days. If a lawsuit is satisfied by the court, the court decision shall be submitted to the DEC within two days, but not later than the 11th day before Election Day. The DEC shall immediately submit appropriate information to the CEC and the respective PEC. Election commissions shall immediately make respective amendments to the data of voters/lists of voters.
11. A PEC shall be provided with the public version of the unified list of voters not later than the day of its first meeting. The list shall be signed by a chairperson and a secretary of a DEC. The PEC shall also be provided with the final version of the updated lists (versions designated for election commissions and the version designated for public information) not later than the second day before Election Day. The public version of the unified list of voters (without photos) shall be immediately posted in a conspicuous place within PEC premises.
12. A DEC shall decide by decree the matter of registration of voters who have failed to go through registration within the time frame defined in law, provided that an application and other respective documents (entry in a Georgian citizen’s passport about crossing the state border, certificate from an inpatient facility, certificate of release from a penitentiary institution) are submitted. The DEC shall review the application of a voter within two days after its submission, or immediately if less than two days are left before Election Day. The voter shall be notified of a negative decision immediately. If such voter applies to the Electoral Administration on polling day for participating in elections, the voter shall be registered by the respective PEC and shall attach photocopies of respective documents to the lists of voters.
13. It is prohibited to amend lists of voters within the last 10 days before Election Day, except as defined in the twelfth paragraph of this article, and any amendments from the 13th to the 10th day before Election Day may be made only by a court decision.
14. The CEC shall, within five days after calling elections and thereafter not later than the fifth day before polling, post the total number of voters in Georgia and in every electoral district in Georgia on its website.
Organic Law of Georgia No 864 of 25 July 2013 – website, 19.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 1788 of 13 December 2013 – website, 28.12.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 2289 of 17 April 2014 – website, 17.4.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 3402 of 20 March 2015 – website, 31.3.2015
Organic Law of Georgia No 3562 of 1 May 2015 – website, 18.5.2015
Organic Law of Georgia No 3973 of 8 July 2015 – website, 15.7.2015
Article 32 - Special lists of voters
1. Special lists of voters shall include:
a) Electoral Administration officers who are unable to vote in elections on the polling day according to their place of registration because of their activities in election commissions: the respective DEC shall enter Electoral Administration officers in the list of pre-defined electoral precincts not later than the fifth day before the polling day;
b) voters who undergo treatment in a hospital or in any other inpatient facility and who cannot be discharged from hospital on polling day because of their health problems: the head of the relevant medical institution shall draw up a list of those individuals and shall submit it to the respective DEC not later than the sixth day before the polling day;
c) voters serving a sentence in prison on the polling day. The head of an appropriate penitentiary institution shall draw up a list of these individuals and shall submit it to the respective DEC not later than the sixth day before the polling day;
d) military personnel of fixed-term and contract services of the military forces and units of the Ministry of Defence of Georgia, and of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia and the State Security Service of Georgia, whose service conditions require their presence at an address different from their place of registration and which falls within another electoral district. The list of these individuals shall be compiled by the commanders of respective divisions/units of the fixed-term and contract services and shall be submitted to an appropriate DEC:
d.a) not later than 1 July of the next general election year;
d.b) in the case of extraordinary elections – within five days after elections are called;
d.c) not later than on the sixth day before the polling day, taking into account the results of conscription;
e) voters who are staying abroad and who are registered with a consular office of Georgia on the polling day, also voters who are not registered with a consular office of Georgia but have gone through electoral registration in a PEC set up abroad or in a consular office not later than the 21st day before Election Day: the head of the relevant consular office shall draw up a list of those individuals and shall submit it to the CEC not later than the 20th day before the polling day. During the period of parliamentary and presidential elections, from the day of announcing an election until not later than the 21st day before Election Day, voters shall be exempted from a consular fee charged for registration with a consular office;
f) individuals defined in the seventh paragraph of this article.
2. The head of the relevant institution shall be responsible for the accuracy of data entered in the special list of voters that shall be endorsed by his/her signature.
3. A DEC shall, by a decree, draw up and approve special lists of individuals defined in the first paragraph of this article, also based on its own data, not later than the third day before Election Day, and shall immediately submit them to the respective PEC.
4. If voters are entered in a special list of voters, a respective note shall be made in the unified list of voters of an electoral precinct and shall be endorsed by signatures of the PEC chairperson and secretary.
5. Voters entered in a special list of voters shall vote in:
a) both majoritarian and proportional elections, provided that a voter changes his/her whereabouts within the same electoral district or the same local electoral district in the case of local self-government elections (except for voters defined in paragraph 1(d) of this article);
b) parliamentary elections of Georgia held through the proportional electoral system, as well as presidential elections and referenda of Georgia, provided that a voter casts his/her vote in another electoral district.
6. During the elections for Sakrebulo, or during the elections of a Mayor of a self-governing city (including Tbilisi) or a Gamgebeli of a self-governing community:
a) military servicemen of the Ministry for Defence of Georgia referred to in paragraph (1)(d) of this article, who on the polling day are deployed:
a.a) at a given location, permanently, for one year or more, on election day, shall participate in the Sakrebulo elections held under both majoritarian and proportional systems and in Mayoral/Gamgebeli elections as well;
a.b) at the permanent location for less than one year on election day, shall participate in Sakrebulo elections held under the proportional system, however, in the Mayoral/Gamgebeli elections and in Sakrebulo elections held under the majoritarian system the servicemen shall participate only if their location is within the borders of the electoral district/local majoritarian electoral district, respectively, in which they are registered according to their place of residence;
b) military servicemen of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, and military servicemen of the State Security Service of Georgia, who are deployed at an appropriate location on polling day, shall participate in the Sakrebulo elections held under the proportional system. They shall only participate in the Mayoral/Gamgebeli elections and in the Sakrebulo elections held under the majoritarian system if their location fall within the election district/local majoritarian election district, in which they are registered according to their place of residence.
7. To participate in elections for the Parliament of Georgia held under the proportional/majoritarian system and in elections for the President of Georgia, also in referenda, voters defined in paragraph 1(d) of this article entered into a special list of voters shall vote according to the location of the military unit. If a voter wishes to vote according to his/her place of registration, he/she shall, not later than 16 days before Election Day, apply to the respective PEC to be entered into the unified list of voters according to the place of registration.
71. The special lists of voters shall contain the same data of the voters as are included in the unified list of voters. This shall not apply to voters specified in paragraph (1)(a - c) of this article, whose data are entered into the special list of voters without photos, and also to the voters specified in paragraph (1)(d.c) of this article, whose data may be entered in the special list of voters without photos.
8. If a voter is entered into a mobile ballot box list, the special list of voters shall specify ‘mobile box’, the reason for entering the voter into the list and shall be endorsed by signatures of the PEC chairperson and secretary.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 2289 of 17 April 2014 – website, 17.4.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 3562 of 1 May 2015 – website, 18.5.2015
Organic Law of Georgia No 3973 of 8 July 2015 – website, 15.7.2015
Article 33 - Mobile ballot box list
1. A mobile ballot box list shall be drawn up based on unified and special lists of voters (except for the voters staying abroad on polling day) if:
a) a voter is unable to visit the polling station due to health problems;
b) a voter is in prison;
c) a voter is in hospital or in any other inpatient facility for treatment where no electoral precinct will be opened;
d) a voter is a military serviceman serving in a military unit at the state border of Georgia that is located far from the electoral precinct and where no electoral precinct will be opened;
e) a voter is within the territory of the electoral district but his/her location is difficult to access.
2. If a voter is unable to visit polling station on polling day, he/she shall apply to the PEC for mobile voting at least two days before the polling day. On the polling day, a DEC shall transfer information of any voter undergoing treatment at an inpatient facility to the respective PEC not later than two days before the polling day. The voter shall be entered into the mobile ballot box list after:
a) the PEC secretary registers and endorses with his/her signature a written application or telephoned verbal application of a voter specifying the precise time of the telephone call and the telephone number;
b) the transfer of a voter into the mobile ballot box list is specified in the unified or special lists of voters that shall be endorsed by signatures of the PEC chairperson and secretary.
3. Information of voters to be entered into the mobile ballot box list shall immediately be posted in a visible place within the electoral precinct. PEC members, representatives of electoral subjects, and observers shall have the right to verify whether the request for mobile voting is well-substantiated and shall raise a question before the PEC whether it is advisable to enter those individuals into the mobile ballot box list any time before Election Day. The PEC shall decide the above issue.
4. Number of voters defined in paragraph 1(a) of this article shall not exceed 3 per cent of the voters on the unified list of voters per electoral precinct. After reaching the maximum number of voters, the respective DEC shall decide on adding more voters to the mobile ballot box list by the two-thirds of members attending the DEC session.
5. A mobile ballot box list shall contain the same data of voters that are entered in the unified list of voters, except for their photos, and the serial number of those voters shall be additionally indicated in the unified or special list of voters.
6. A mobile ballot box list shall be posted, as soon as it is drawn up, in a visible place within PEC premises and polling stations.
Organic Law of Georgia No 1273 of 20 September 2013 – website, 2.10.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 2289 of 17 April 2014 – website, 17.4.2014
Article 34 - Publication of the lists of voters
1. The PEC shall, on the first day of the commission session, put up the lists of voters and the procedures defined by law for filing complaints about the lists of voters, as well as shall put up the mobile ballot box list, immediately after it is drawn up, in a conspicuous place at the PEC premises and polling stations. The PEC chairperson shall be responsible for failure to meet these requirements.
2. In the lists referred to in the first paragraph of this article, based on the verification of data entered into the lists within the time frame defined by this Law, the column ‘Actual Status’ alongside the last name of a voter who:
a) is registered in a consular office of Georgia abroad, shall specify ‘on a consular registry’;
b) is staying abroad but is not registered in a consular office of Georgia, shall specify ‘abroad’;
c) is doing fixed-term or contractual military service at the military forces and military units of Georgia, shall specify ‘doing military service’;
d) is entered into a special list of voters, shall specify: ‘member of commission’, ‘in hospital’, or ‘imprisoned’;
e) is entered into the mobile ballot box list, shall specify: ‘mobile ballot box’.
Article 35 - Voter invitation cards
1. A PEC may, not later than two days before polling, issue a voter invitation card to all voters registered in the territory of the electoral precinct and entered into the list of voters, which shall specify the following:
a) date and time of polling
b) address, floor, and room numbers of polling stations
c) number of a voter on the list of voters
d) procedures for filing an application by a voter for mobile voting because of health problems or other reason, telephone (fax) numbers of the PEC, and other information
e) number of the electoral precinct
f) first name, last name, date of birth (day, month, year) of a voter
g) place of registration of a voter.
2. Failure to receive the voter invitation card may not constitute a basis for limiting the right to vote.
Chapter IV - Registration of Electoral subjects and Lists of Supporters
Article 36 - Registration of electoral subjects
1. In order to obtain the right to run in elections, the chairperson of the relevant election commission shall register electoral subjects based on procedures defined by this Law.
2. In order to be registered, electoral subjects shall submit an application and relevant documents to the respective election commission as defined in this Law.
3. The respective office of the election commission shall, within the time frame defined by this Law, examine the submitted documents and present a report to the commission chairperson who is authorised to make a decision on registration. If the submitted documents do not meet the requirements defined in this Law, the commission chairperson shall, within two days (unless another time frame is provided for by this Law), inform the representative of a party/electoral bloc/initiative group of voters about the decision (by specifying the discrepancy) and give them three days (unless another time frame is provided for by this Law) to adjust documents. The election commission shall, within two days after submission of documents (unless another time frame is provided for by this Law), re-examine corrected documents and decide upon registration. In the case of refusal to provide registration, the election commission shall forthwith communicate its decision to the representative of a party/electoral bloc/initiative group of voters that is authorised to be informed of the decision immediately upon request.
Article 37 - Lists of supporters
1. Voters shall endorse the initiative of an electoral subject to run in an election by signing the form of the list of supporters.
2. The CEC shall by decree approve a sample of the form of the list of supporters.
3. The form of a list of supporters shall include the following data of a voter:
a) first and last name
b) date of birth (day/month/year)
c) number of a Georgian citizen’s identity card and personal number
d) address (according to a Georgian citizen’s identity card or the Agency database)
e) date of signature
f) signature.
4. The form of a list of supporters shall contain the first name and last name, address (according to the identity card of a citizen of Georgia or the Agency database), and contact telephone number of the person responsible for collecting signatures, as well as the date of completing the form. The person responsible for collecting signatures shall endorse the form by his/her signature.
5. The upper left corner of the form of the list of supporters shall specify the name (first and last name) of an electoral subject whose initiative to run in elections is supported by voters.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 38 - Verification of the lists of supporters
1. The CEC shall verify the lists of supporters of a party and a candidate for President of Georgia, and the respective DEC shall verify the lists of supporters of other candidates.
2. The election commission shall verify the signatures in turn on the forms of the lists of supporters. If the number of signatures of supporters is less than the minimum amount required or if the number of signatures of supporters, taking into account the signatures invalidated as a result of verification, is less than the minimum amount required, the invalidated part of the list of supporters shall be returned to the respective electoral subject and shall be given two days to correct the discrepancy. The election commission shall, as defined above, verify once again the corrected part of the lists of supporters submitted by the electoral subject. If the number of signatures of supporters is still less than the minimum amount required, the election commission shall completely invalidate the list of supporters and shall, by decree of the commission chairperson, refuse to register the electoral subject.
3. The signature of a voter in the list of supporters shall be considered invalid if:
a) the first and last names are not specified or are incompletely specified;
b) the date of birth (day, month, year) is not specified or is incompletely specified;
c) the place of registration (settlement, street, building, and apartment number) is not specified or is incompletely specified;
d) the date of signature is not specified or does not meet the deadline defined by this Law for drawing up the list of supporters;
e) it is not signed or is signed by another person and this is confirmed in writing by the voter in whose stead the list was signed;
f) a voter listed as a supporter of a candidate nominated in an electoral district is registered in an other electoral district;
g) a signatory, by an application submitted to the respective election commission, confirms that the list was signed by deception, intimidation, or under pressure, and the signature on the application was notarized;
h) the personal number of a citizen of Georgia is specified incompletely or inaccurately.
4. A signature shall be considered invalid if it is made on a form not endorsed by the person in charge of collecting signatures or if such a form does not include data or includes incomplete data referred to in Article 37(4) of this Law.
5. The deadline for verifying the list of supporters of a party shall be 10 days after its submission, while the deadline for verifying the list of supporters of a candidate shall be three days after its submission.
6. Representatives of electoral subjects may attend the process of verification of the list of supporters.
7. Only the CEC members, respective DECs members, and appropriate officers of the CEC, as well as the court, if appealed to court, may have access to the lists of supporters. The lists of supporters shall be destroyed within 10 days after the expiration of the time frame for bringing a lawsuit to the court about electoral registration.
Chapter V - Election Monitoring and Media
Article 39 - Domestic and international observers
1. Domestic and international observer organisations shall have the right to observe elections provided they meet the terms and conditions defined in this Law and have been registered with the CEC or the relevant DEC.
2. A domestic observer organisation may be a local non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entity registered according to the legislation of Georgia not later than one year before the polling day with statutes and regulations (constituent documents) that provide for, at the time of registration, monitoring elections and/or protecting human rights. A domestic observer organisation shall be registered with the CEC or the respective DEC for the purpose of observing elections.
3. A domestic observer organisation shall observe elections through its representative, domestic observer. An organisation is authorised to have not more than 1 observer at each electoral precinct at any one time.
4. Domestic observers of a domestic observer organisation may be any citizen of Georgia above the age of 18, except for:
a) public/political officials;
b) MPs of Georgia;
c) members of a local self-government representative body Sakrebulo;
d) heads and deputy heads of the local self-government executive body;
e) judges;
f) staff of the Ministries of Internal Affairs, Defence, and Corrections of Georgia, the State Security Service of Georgia and the Georgian Intelligence Service, and of the Special State Protection Service of Georgia;
g) officials of the Prosecutor’s Office;
h) electoral subjects and their representatives;
i) members of an election commission.
5. An international observer organisation may be a representative of another country, an organisation registered in another country or an international organisation, the constituent document/statute of which provides for monitoring elections and/or protecting human rights and the activity of which is based on the following internationally recognized principles:
a) respect for the legislation, sovereignty of Georgia and international human rights norms
b) non-interference with the election process
c) political impartiality
d) financial independence from the participants of the election process and transparency of funding sources
e) implementation of the provisions recognized by the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation.
6. An international observer organisation shall be registered with the CEC in order to monitor elections. In addition, the CEC shall be authorised to request additional information when registering an organisation in order to determine the compliance of the organisation’s activity with the principles referred to in the fifth paragraph of this article. An international observer organisation shall observe elections through its representatives – international observers. One organisation may have not more than 2 international observers at the same time at each electoral precinct.
7. International observers defined in paragraph 6 of this article may be accompanied by an interpreter who shall be registered with the CEC together with international observers.
Organic Law of Georgia No 6571 of 28 June 2012 – website, 28.6.2012
Organic Law of Georgia No 1788 of 13 December 2013 – website, 28.12.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 3973 of 8 July 2015 – website, 15.7.2015
Article 40 - Registration of observer organisations
1. The CEC shall register an international observer organisation as well as a domestic observer organisation observing elections in more than one electoral district.
2. The respective DEC shall register a domestic observer organisation observing elections in a particular electoral district.
3. In order to be registered, a domestic election observer organisation shall apply to the relevant election commission not later than the 10th day before the polling day and shall submit its constituent documents/statutes notarized according to the legislation of Georgia. The application shall include the name of the electoral district(s) where the organisation shall observe elections. The election commission shall make a decision on registration within five days after receipt of the application.
4. In order to be registered, an international observer organisation shall apply to the CEC not later than the seventh day before the polling day and shall submit a copy of its constituent document. If an observer (or group of observers) represents a foreign state authority, he/she/it shall only file an application and a proxy document. The CEC shall decide on the registration of an organisation, an observer (or group of observers) referred to in this paragraph within two days after the application is filed.
5. The election commission may not refuse to register an observer organisation if it meets the requirements of this Law. A decree of the election commission for the refusal of registration shall be well-founded and shall be delivered to the organisation not later than the day following the day of the decision. A decree of the election commission may be appealed to the court within two days after its receipt. The court shall render a decision within two days after the application is filed with the court.
6. An international observer organisation registered by the CEC shall submit information about observers and copies of their identity cards to the CEC Secretary not later than the second day before the polling day. A decree of the CEC shall determine the content and the form of that information.
7. A domestic observer organisation registered by the CEC shall submit a list of observers appointed at the CEC, DECs, and PECs to the CEC Secretary not later than the fifth day before the polling day. The list shall be accompanied by copies of identity cards of Georgian citizens held by domestic observers. A domestic observer organisation registered by the DEC shall submit a list of observers appointed to a DEC and/or its lower PEC to the DEC secretary within the same time frame. The list shall include the name (first and last name, and place of registration) of an observer.
8. A domestic observer registered with the CEC may observe elections at all election commissions of any level according to the procedures provided for by the third paragraph of Article 39 of this Law.
9. The election commission secretary shall, within two days after the list of observers is submitted, register observers nominated under this Law and shall issue an observer certificate to the observer organisation. An observer certificate shall at the same time serve as a badge to be worn by the observer.
10. An observer from a domestic observer organisation at a DEC and an observer observing elections at an electoral precinct within the territory of the electoral district shall, on the polling day, have the right to observe elections at any electoral precinct in the territory of the relevant electoral district as defined in the third paragraph of Article 39 of this Law.
Organic Law of Georgia No 6571 of 28 June 2012 – website, 28.6.2012
Article 41 - Rights of observers
1. An observer shall have the right to:
a) attend and observe sessions of election commissions:
b) be present at the polling place at any time during polling day, move without restrictions within the precinct territory and observe all stages of the polling process from any point in the precinct in a free and unhindered manner;
c) replace another registered representative (if any) of the nominating organisation at any time on the polling day;
d) take part in the inspection of ballot boxes before they are sealed and after they are opened;
e) observe the registration of voters in the lists of voters, the issuance of ballot papers and special envelopes and the certification thereof, without disrupting the polling process;
f) attend the procedures of counting votes and summarising results;
g) observe the process of mobile voting;
h) observe the vote counting under such conditions in which ballot papers may be visible;
i) observe the process of compiling summary protocols of election results and other documents by the election commission;
j) address the DEC chairperson with an application (complaint) regarding issues related to the procedures of voting and polling, whereby the applicant requests a response to identified cases of specific violations;
k) request a voter to show how many ballot papers and special envelopes he/she has in hand;
l) appeal the actions of an election commission as defined in the legislation of Georgia;
m) observe the ballot box, the placing of special envelopes into the ballot box, the opening of ballot boxes, the counting of ballot papers, and the drawing up of protocols;
n) review the summary protocols of polling and election results drawn up by election commissions, request and receive the copies of such protocols from the relevant election commission.
2. An observer may not:
a) interfere with the duties and activities of an election commission;
b) influence the free expression of the will of voters;
c) agitate in favour of or against an electoral subject;
d) wear symbols and signs of any electoral subject;
e) be without a badge in the polling station on polling day;
f) breach other requirements of this Law.
3. The procedures defined in the electoral, administrative, and/or criminal legislation of Georgia shall define liability for the violation of rights granted to local/international observers, electoral subjects, and media representatives by this Law or liability for the interference with their activity.
4. Violation of the requirements of paragraph 2(a-d) of this article by an observer, electoral subject, and media representative shall give rise to liability as defined in the electoral legislation of Georgia.
5. An election commission shall provide all conditions for an observer to implement his/her powers regarding all procedures within the election commission, including during the process of counting ballot papers and summarising results.
Article 42 - Representative of an electoral subject and his/her powers
1. A representative of an electoral subject (a party independently running in elections, an electoral bloc, an initiative group of voters) shall represent the electoral subject in its relationship with the respective election commission.
2. During one or several types of elections, a party, an electoral bloc, an initiative group of voters (during elections for the President of Georgia), and a candidate for the President of Georgia may each appoint only two representatives at every election commission. During the parliamentary and local self-government elections of Georgia, an initiative group of voters may appoint two representatives to the respective district and precinct election commissions. The representatives appointed to the CEC and DEC may not concurrently be appointed to any other election commission.
3. The electoral subject referred to in the second paragraph of this article shall apply to the CEC Chairperson for appointment of a representative to the CEC. If the appropriate information is submitted in full, the CEC Chairperson shall register the representative of the electoral subject and issue the representative’s certificate by decree within 24 hours. The certificate is at the same time a badge to be worn by the representative.
31. The electoral subject referred to in the second paragraph of this article shall apply to the secretary of the higher election commission for appointment of a representative to an election commission (other than CEC). If the appropriate information is submitted in full, the secretary of the higher election commission shall register the representative of the electoral subject and issue the representative’s certificate by decree within 24 hours, the certificate is at the same time a badge to be worn by the representative.
4. The head of a party/electoral bloc/the candidate for President of Georgia or any person authorised by him/her, the person representing a candidate for President of Georgia/an initiative group of voters to the higher commission shall sign an application for the appointment of a representative of an electoral subject. The application shall include first and last names, year of birth, address, contact telephone number (if any) of the representative.
5. Only 1 representative of the electoral subject shall have the right to attend sessions of the respective election commission, request to give a speech and express his/her opinion, make decisions on various issues, and enjoy other rights granted by this Law. On the polling day, the representative shall enjoy unlimited rights provided for by the first paragraph of Article 41 and the second paragraph of Article 67 of this Law.
6. An electoral subject shall have the right to withdraw and/or replace its representative at any time and inform the respective election commission thereof.
Organic Law of Georgia No 864 of 25 July 2013 – website, 19.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 877 of 27 July 2013 – website, 20.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 43 - Funding of representatives of electoral subjects
1. To provide their representation at DECs and PECs on Election Day, a qualified electoral subject (a qualified party running independently, as well as an electoral bloc that includes a qualified party) shall receive GEL 100 for each electoral precinct and GEL 150 for each electoral district, and the electoral bloc uniting two or more qualified parties shall receive GEL 150 for each electoral precinct and GEL 200 for each electoral district. To provide their representation at DECs and PECs on Election Day, an electoral bloc, which does not include any qualified party, but the parties united in that bloc received in total 3% or more of the votes cast in at least one of the last general parliamentary or local self-government elections held under the proportional electoral system, shall receive GEL 100 for each electoral precinct and GEL 150 for each electoral district. The amount allocated for one electoral precinct shall be paid to the representative(s) appointed only for that precinct.
2. The CEC shall transfer the amount allocated for the electoral subject referred to in the first paragraph of this article into the account of the respective electoral subject not later than the third day before Election Day. The electoral subject may apportion the amount to the relevant representatives in district and precinct election commissions so as to fund the activity of not more than two representatives per commission; at the same time, the same representative shall not be paid the amount allocated for more than three electoral precincts.
3. If a political party receiving funds does not have a representative in an electoral district and/or electoral precinct and/or if the deposited funds are not fully appropriated, the party shall return the respective amount of funds to the State Budget of Georgia within 15 days after the election results are summarised.
4. The salary earned under this article by an electoral subject’s representative who is entered into the Unified Database of Socially Vulnerable Families shall not be included in the total income of his/her family and shall not serve as the basis for discontinuation of his/her state financing. (Applies to legal relations arising from 1 September 2013)
Organic Law of Georgia No 877 of 27 July 2013 – website, 20.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 44 - Representatives of the press and other media
1. Representatives of the press and other media accredited to the respective election commission may attend sessions of the election commission and be present at the polling stations on polling day.
2. The CEC Secretary or the secretaries of respective DECs shall provide the accreditation of representatives of the press and other media operating in the territory of several electoral districts, while the secretary of the respective DEC shall provide the accreditation of media representatives operating in the territory of one electoral district.
3. An application for accreditation of representatives of the press and other media shall be submitted to the respective election commission not later than three days before polling day.
4. The secretary of the respective election commission shall decide, within one day after filing an application, on the accreditation of representatives of the press and other media and shall issue respective certificates to the accredited representatives within one day after the decision. In the case of refusal of accreditation, the secretary shall issue a respective decree (the refusal of accreditation shall be duly justified in the decree) within the same time frame.
5. The same press and other media organisation may have not more than 3 representatives at any one time at the electoral precinct on polling day.
Chapter VI - Election Campaign
Article 45 – Election campaign (canvassing)
1. Election campaign (canvassing) shall begin as soon as a legal act calling elections is issued and published. Political parties and candidates for electoral subject shall enjoy equal rights and have equal obligations as defined in this Law.
2. During the election campaign (canvassing) period a political party, a candidate for electoral subject, or an electoral subject may produce pre-election slogans, statements, inscriptions, papers, photo materials, etc. It is prohibited to prevent their dissemination and seizure, as well as to seize vehicles and other means equipped with special devices used for campaigning purposes, or to prevent their application for election campaigning purposes.
3. Political parties, candidates for electoral subject, electoral subjects, and their supporters may present a program for further activity. The election program shall not contain propaganda for war or violence, appeal for change or overthrow of the existing state and social order by violence, for violation of the territorial integrity of Georgia, for national strife and enmity, or for religious or ethnic confrontation.
4. Any individual may conduct and participate in election campaigning, except for:
a) election commission members;
b) judges;
c) public officers of the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia, the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Defence, of the State Security Service of Georgia, the Georgian Intelligence Service, and the Special State Protection Service of Georgia;
d) the Auditor General;
e) the Public Defender of Georgia;
f) aliens and foreign organisations;
g) charitable and religious organisations;
h) public officers of state authorities and local self-government bodies during normal business hours and/or when they are directly performing their duties;
i) members of the Georgian National Communications Commission (GNCC) and the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNEWSRC).
5. It is prohibited to conduct election campaign (canvassing) in the premises of the following institutions:
a) executive agencies of Georgia
b) courts
c) military units.
6. Local self-government bodies shall be obliged to support political parties/electoral subjects to organize and hold meetings and gatherings with voters, public debates and discussions, assemblies and manifestations, and to ensure the safety of those events.
7. It is prohibited to carry on election campaigning at any event/presentation funded from the State Budget of Georgia/the budget of local self-governing unit. That action shall be regarded as the use of administrative resources.
8. In order to conduct mass electoral events, the premises administered by state authorities or local self-government bodies shall be available free of charge for the election commissions.
9. Local self-government bodies shall draw up, within five days after the commencement of election campaign, a list of premises where election campaign (canvassing) is likely to be conducted and shall submit it to the DEC. The DEC shall make public the list of premises allocated by the local self-government bodies within two days after the receipt thereof, shall ensure equal availability of the premises for all political parties and electoral subjects, and shall draw up a schedule, in agreement with political parties and electoral subjects, for the electoral events (if the events of different electoral subjects coincide and the electoral subjects fail to come to agreement, the sequence of events shall be determined by casting lots). The list of premises allocated by local self-government bodies shall be also posted on the CEC website.
10. A DEC shall give a well-grounded written response to any respective application filed by an electoral subject for the use of premises within 24 hours from filing the application. Any failure to give a response within the above time frame shall be regarded as the consent to the application.
11. It is prohibited to conduct election campaign at the polling station on polling day.
Organic Law of Georgia No 6571 of 28 June 2012 – website, 28.6.2012
Organic Law of Georgia No 6551 of 22 June 2012 – website, 29.6.2012
Organic Law of Georgia No 878 of 27 July 2013 – website, 7.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 1273 of 20 September 2013 – website, 2.10.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 3973 of 8 July 2015 – website, 15.7.2015
Article 46 - Campaign materials
1. Campaign materials may be displayed on buildings and premises and other facilities with the consent of their owners or possessors.
2. It is prohibited to place/post campaign materials on places of worship, buildings or structures of cultural heritage, in the interior and exterior of buildings of the state and local self-government bodies, courts, the Prosecutor’s Office, military units, divisions of the police, the State Security Service of Georgia, the Georgian Intelligence Service and the Special State Protection Service of Georgia, as well as on traffic signs.
3. Bookmaking regarding any election-related issue is prohibited.
4. Local self-government bodies shall determine the list of premises, as provided for by the second paragraph of this article, where the campaign materials are prohibited to be placed, as well as shall determine the places and/or install stands for posting and displaying campaign materials. Stands must be of such a size that all electoral subjects are provided with equal conditions for the display of campaign materials.
5. Local self-government bodies shall publish the information about places and/or installed stands designated for posting and displaying campaign materials according to this article not later than 10 days before calling elections.
6. Printed campaign materials shall specify the names and addresses of organisations that manufactured and ordered them, as well as information of circulation, sequence number, and date of issue. It is prohibited to disseminate printed campaign materials without indicating the above information. An electoral subject shall be required to indicate the sequence number on printed campaign materials only after having been assigned that number.
7. Copies of printed campaign materials shall be submitted to the election commission, where an electoral subject was registered for elections, not later than the fifth day after the day of issuing the campaign materials referred to in the sixth paragraph of this article.
71. Removal, tearing off, covering, or damaging campaign materials, unless they are located in a forbidden place, shall be prohibited and punishable by this Law.
8. The relevant electoral subject shall, within 15 days after the official publication of final results of elections, ensure the removal of campaign materials. Otherwise, the electoral subject shall be held liable under the legislation of Georgia.
Organic Law of Georgia No 6571 of 28 June 2012 – website, 28.6.2012
Organic Law of Georgia No 878 of 27 July 2013 – website, 7.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 3973 of 8 July 2015 – website, 15.7.2015
Article 47 - Bribery of voters
1. From the moment of publication of the respective legal act calling elections until the publication of final results of elections, it is prohibited:
a) for electoral subjects, candidates for electoral subject, and their representatives to give funds, gifts, and other material possessions (irrespective of their value) to the citizens of Georgia, personally or through other persons; to sell goods to electoral subjects, candidates for electoral subject, and their representatives at a preferential price; to distribute or disseminate goods free of charge (except for campaign materials defined by this Law) among electoral subjects, candidates for electoral subject, and their representatives; and to motivate Georgian citizens by promising to give them funds, securities, and other material possessions (irrespective of their value);
b) for individuals or legal entities to perform such work or to provide such services through utilizing personal funds and/or electoral subject funds (except for the performance of work or the provision of services defined in the Law of Georgia on State Procurement) that fall within the competence of the state authorities and/or local self-government bodies of Georgia under the legislation of Georgia.
2. Registration of the electoral subject that, personally or through any representative or any other individual or legal entity acting in his/her behalf, has carried out prohibited activities provided for by this article shall be revoked by a court decision if those facts are confirmed.
Article 48 - Prohibition of the use of administrative resources during canvassing and election campaign
1. Any person having the right to participate in canvassing according to Article 45(4) of this Law shall be prohibited from using administrative resources in the course of the election campaign in support of or against any political party, candidate for electoral subject, or electoral subject. In addition, it is prohibited to:
a) use premises occupied by state authorities and local self-government bodies, also by organisations funded from the State Budget of Georgia, provided that other political parties, candidates for electoral subject, or electoral subjects are unable to use similar premises under the same conditions;
b) use means of communication, information services, and other kinds of equipment designated for state authorities and local self-government bodies, also for organisations funded from the State Budget of Georgia (except for political parties);
c) use means of transportation owned by state authorities or local self-government bodies.
2. Restrictions provided for by paragraph 1(c) of this article shall not apply to the use of service vehicles by public political officials that are protected by the Special State Security Service as defined in this Law.
3. In order to ensure that public officers prevent and respond to violations of the electoral legislation of Georgia, an interagency commission shall be set up under the auspices of the Ministry for Justice of Georgia.
4. An interagency commission for the next general elections shall be set up not later than 1 July of the election year, while for the extraordinary, by-elections, or re-run elections for the Parliament of Georgia, or for the extraordinary or re-run elections for the President of Georgia an interagency commission shall be set up within three days after calling the elections.
41. An interagency commission shall cease its activities as from the day when the CEC officially publishes final results of elections.
5. The composition of an interagency commission shall be determined by an order of the Minister for Justice of Georgia, while the rules of operation of the interagency commission shall be determined by its statute approved by the Minister for Justice of Georgia. The interagency commission shall be convened by the commission chairperson when necessary, but at least once in two weeks, and after the registration period for electoral subjects expires - at least once a week.
6. Qualified electoral subjects, as well as political unions that inform an interagency commission about any violation of the electoral legislation by public officers shall participate in the commission activity with deliberative vote.
7. An interagency commission shall consider issues related to information disseminated through the media about violation of electoral legislation by public officers, as well as information about violations reported to the interagency commission by political unions (electoral subjects), or observer organisations.
8. In order to ensure the publicity of activities of interagency commissions, the representatives of domestic and international observer organisations may be invited to the commission session.
9. If any statement of violation is confirmed, the commission shall have the right to recommend to any public officer, an administrative body, or the CEC to take respective measures within a reasonable time.
Organic Law of Georgia No 878 of 27 July 2013 – website, 7.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 1698 of 11 December 2013 – website, 25.12.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 49 - Prohibition of the use of budgetary funds, office, or official position
1. A person having the right to participate in canvassing, who holds an office within the state authorities or local government bodies, shall be prohibited to use his/her official status or capacity in the course of canvassing and election campaign in support of or against any political party, candidate for electoral subject, or electoral subject. For the purposes of this article, the above-stated shall include:
a) getting any career subordinate or otherwise dependent person involved in an activity that may support to presentation and/or election of a candidate;
b) collecting signatures and conducting canvassing during business trips funded by state authorities or local self-government bodies;
c) conducting canvassing during working hours and/or in the course of performing official duties.
2. The restriction provided for by paragraph 1(c) of this article shall not apply to public political officials determined by this Law, as well as to the cases where TV and radio broadcasters use air-time allotted for election campaign.
3. From the 60th day before and including Election Day, it is prohibited to implement such projects/programs that have not been previously included in the State Budget of Georgia, the republic budget of any Autonomous Republic of Georgia, or the budget of any local self-government unit, except when projects/programs are funded within the allocations provided for by the respective program code of the respective budget and/or by the funds from such allocations, as well as by the funds allocated by donors at least 60 days before Election Day. If the procedures under this paragraph are not met, an authorised person may apply to the court to suspend expenses.
4. From the 60th day before and including Election Day, it is prohibited to increase the amount of welfare benefits (pensions, hardship allowances, allowances, etc.), except for benefits the increase of which was provided for by the legislation of Georgia at least 60 days before Election Day. It is also prohibited to fund the welfare benefits (pensions, hardship allowances, allowances, etc.) that were not provided for by the legislation of Georgia at least 60 days before Election Day. If the procedures under this paragraph are not met, an authorised person may apply to the court to suspend expenses.
5. The third and fourth paragraphs of this article shall not apply to financing the setting up of electoral precincts by state and/or local self-government bodies under this Law and to financing the measures for remediation of the consequences of natural disasters or other force majeure circumstances. During by-elections, the above paragraphs shall apply only to the electoral precincts, where by-elections are held.
6. In the course of canvassing, it is prohibited to produce, by funds from the State Budget/local self-government unit budget of Georgia, campaign materials, video or audio materials, or to create the website or any part thereof where any electoral subject/political party or its sequence number assigned during elections is displayed and/or which comprise materials in support of/against any electoral subject/political party. It is also prohibited to show an electoral subject/political party or a sequence number assigned thereto during elections in a public service announcement (PSA) made by funds from the State Budget/local self-government unit budget of Georgia in the course of any election campaigning.
7. From the expiration of the registration term for electoral subjects until the end of polling day, it is prohibited to reshuffle head officers of any local self-government body, police, and the Prosecutor’s Office, except when the term of their office has expired and/or they violate the law.
Organic Law of Georgia No 878 of 27 July 2013 – website, 7.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2289 of 17 April 2014 – website, 17.4.2014
Article 50 - General regulations for election campaigning media coverage
1. A broadcast licence holder, an authorised over-the-air broadcaster, and the Public Broadcaster and Ajara TV and Radio of the Public Broadcaster shall, not later than from the 50th day before polling until the polling day, fulfil the following conditions:
a) if airtime is allotted for pre-election campaigning and political advertising, publicly announce and weekly submit to the GNCC the following information: from and until what date and at what intervals the airtime is allotted, its duration and schedule of the allotted airtime during one day, the airtime fee, and service provided;
b) paid airtime allotted by any TV or radio broadcaster during one day may not exceed 15% of its total daily broadcasting time and none of electoral subjects shall be granted more than one-third of this time. The paid airtime fee shall be equal for all electoral subjects (both for qualified and unqualified subjects);
c) when broadcasting a political/pre-election advertisement, the screen corner shall display the inscription ‘paid political advertising’ or ‘free political advertising’. Such advertisements shall have be accompanied with the sign language translation which shall be arranged for by the electoral subject presenting the advertisement;
d) during the period referred to herein, political advertising may not be broadcast at any other time, except the time interval allotted for these purposes.
2. From the announcement of elections until the summarisation of election results, newspapers funded by the central or local budget shall meet the following conditions:
a) if a newspaper allocates space for election campaigning and political advertising, it shall weekly publish the following information in the same newspaper: from what date, at what intervals and until when the newspaper space is allocated, the size of the space allocated in one newspaper, and in the case of free newspaper space, the share of free space out of the total space allocated, the space fee, and service provided;
b) no electoral subject shall be granted more than one-third of the newspaper space in one newspaper publication or over a period of one week;
c) the space fee shall be equal for all electoral subjects;
d) when publishing a campaign letter and a political advertisement, an inscription ‘paid political advertising’ or ‘free political advertising’ shall be made above the heading and in the corner of the advertisement;
e) during the period referred to in this paragraph, a political advertisement shall not be published in violation of the requirements provided for by this paragraph.
3. All newspapers, except for the ones referred to in the second paragraph of this article, shall have the right to allot pre-election advertising time to any electoral subject under any conditions.
4. If any electoral subject fails to use its airtime or newspaper space, a broadcast licence holder, an authorised over-the-air broadcaster, the Public Broadcaster, and Ajara TV and Radio of the Public Broadcaster, and a newspaper shall have the right to distribute this time or space equally among other electoral subjects.
5. It is prohibited to publish public opinion poll results with regard to elections, except for the possible number of voters in elections and the number of voters participating in elections on polling day, within 48 hours before polling day and until 20:00 of that day. From the day of calling elections until the publication of final results of elections by the CEC and during one month thereafter, the following shall be indicated when publishing public opinion poll results with regard to elections: the person ordering the poll (name according to public or electoral registration and legal address if a legal entity or a state body has ordered the public opinion poll; and first name, last name, and address according to a Georgian citizen’s identity card if an individual has ordered the public opinion poll), whether the poll is paid or free of charge, the organisation conducting the public opinion poll (name according to public or electoral registration and legal address), date of the poll, methods used, exact formulation of the questions put in the poll, possible margin of errors.
Organic Law of Georgia No 834 of 12 July 2013 – website, 25.7.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 3695 of 12 June 2015 – website, 15.6.2015
Article 51 - Information support to election campaigning
1. In the course of election campaigning, when broadcasting social-political programs and elections, a broadcaster shall observe the principle of impartiality and fairness according to the Law of Georgia on Broadcasting, the Code of Conduct of Broadcasters, and this Law.
2. A general broadcaster intending to cover election campaigning shall broadcast pre-election debates in a non-discriminatory manner and with the participation of all qualified electoral subjects in the course of the election campaigning within its coverage area.
3. The obligations provided for by this Law for equal allotment of airtime, creation of equal conditions for participating in debates, and for setting equal conditions for election advertising shall apply only to the broadcasters referred to in paragraphs (5, 6 and 61) of this article and only in relation to qualified electoral subjects; in the case provided for in paragraph (61) of this article the obligations shall also apply in relation to the electoral subjects referred to in subparagraph (c) of the same paragraph.
4. For the purposes of this article, a qualified electoral subject shall be an electoral subject, the affiliated party of which meets the following requirements:
a) independently ran in the previous parliamentary election and received not less than 4% of votes;
b) independently ran in the previous election for local self-government held under the proportional system and received not less than 3% of votes throughout the country;
c) was the first member in the list of the electoral bloc that received in the previous parliamentary election not less than 4% of the votes;
d) was the first member in the list of the electoral bloc that received in the previous local self- government election held under the proportional system not less than 3% of votes throughout the country.
5. During the election campaign in their respective coverage areas, the Public Broadcaster, Ajara TV and Radio of the Public Broadcaster, and any community broadcaster shall broadcast in every hour (for not more 60 seconds), free of charge and without discrimination, the pre-election advertisements presented to them by each qualified electoral subject. The airtime not used by an electoral subject may not be added to other airtime allotted to the electoral subject.
6. During the general election campaign, a general national over-the-air broadcaster shall broadcast every three hours, for at least 90 seconds, free of charge and without discrimination, the pre-election advertisements submitted to the broadcaster by each qualified electoral subject. The airtime not used by an electoral subject may not be added to any other airtime allotted to the electoral subject.
61. A broadcaster, other than the ones referred to in the fifth and sixth paragraphs of this article, shall broadcast pre-election advertising free of charge for the last 30 days until the Election Day if during the election campaign within its coverage area it airs any paid pre-election advertising of the electoral subject specified in Article 30(12) of the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Associations of Citizens. In that case, the broadcaster shall allot time to pre-election advertising free of charge (if the paid advertising is aired during the prime time as defined by the Law of Georgia on Broadcasting, the free advertising shall be aired in the proportion provided for below and in the same time period, on the same day or, in agreement with the client, on another day. In all other cases, free advertising shall be broadcast in a three-hour interval from the time of broadcasting paid advertising in the broadcasting network, on the same day or, in agreement with the client, on another day. The free advertising airtime not used by an electoral subject may not be added to other advertising airtime allotted to such subject):
a) for the above electoral subject, the time equal to the advertising time purchased by the electoral subject. The time shall be distributed so as not to take up more than 90 seconds in three hours;
b) for the qualified electoral subjects specified in the fourth paragraph of this article, other than the electoral subjects provided for in Article 30(12) of the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Associations of Citizens – the time, which equals the total advertising time purchased by the subjects referred to in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph divided by the number of these subjects and which must be equally apportioned among the subjects referred to in subparagraph (b) of this paragraph, provided that the time allotted to one electoral subject does not take up more than 90 seconds in three hours;
c) for the qualified electoral subjects defined in paragraph (2)(q1) of this Law, other than the qualified electoral subjects specified in the fourth paragraph of this article, the time twice as much as the total advertising time purchased under this paragraph, which must be equally apportioned among the electoral subjects, provided that the time allotted to one subject does not take up more than 90 seconds in three hours.
62. The broadcasters referred to in paragraph (61) of this article willing to air paid pre-election advertising shall provide the CEC and Georgian National Communications Commission, not later than the 55th day before Election Day, with information on the proposed paid pre-election advertising airing schedule and the advertising time price, which will be posted on the official CEC website within one day. An electoral subject indicated in Article 30(12) of the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Associations of Citizens shall provide the CEC and the relevant broadcaster, not later than the 40th day before Election Day, with information on the purchase of advertising time from each particular broadcaster according to the above schedule (the information shall contain dates, airtime intervals for the advertising to be aired during the day and the duration of the advertising time to be purchased). A broadcaster, from whom the electoral subject purchased advertising time, shall provide the CEC and Georgian National Communications Commission, not later than the 38th day before Election Day, with information on the free advertising airtime allotted under paragraph (61) of this article (such information shall contain dates, airtime intervals for the advertising to be aired during the day and the duration of the advertising time), as well as information on the schedule for airing advertising within the advertising time allotted to each qualified electoral subject specified in paragraph (61)(b) and (c) of this article. The CEC shall post the above information on its official website within one day. An electoral subject eligible to receive free advertising time shall give the relevant broadcaster at least two days prior notice of the intention to use its due time and submit the advertising at the time agreed with the broadcaster.
63. The Public Broadcaster shall arrange for sign language translation for its programmes aired in connection with elections during the election campaign period.
7. For the purposes of this article, a qualified electoral subject for presidential elections shall be considered a candidate nominated by a political union funded from the State Budget of Georgia according to Article 30 of the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Unions of Citizens based on the results of the previous parliamentary or local self-government elections.
8. A broadcaster shall have the right to recognize as a qualified electoral subject the political party that, according to the public opinion poll conducted throughout the territory of Georgia according to the terms and conditions referred to in this article, has gained not less than 4% of votes in not less than 5 public opinion polls conducted during the election year or in the public opinion poll conducted a month before elections. Discriminatory use of sociological surveys by any broadcaster shall not be permitted.
9. A local broadcaster shall be obliged to recognize a political party/bloc as a qualified electoral subject if:
a) it meets the requirements referred to in the fourth paragraph of this article;
b) its candidate(s) won the previous parliamentary elections held in the majoritarian electoral district falling within the local broadcaster’s coverage area, the candidate(s) moved to the second round of elections or received not less than 25% of votes;
c) it received not less than 25% of votes in elections for Sakrebulo.
10. A local broadcaster shall have the right to recognize the following as a qualified electoral subject:
a) a political party that obtained not less than 10% votes in the previous parliamentary or local self-government elections held in the respective majoritarian electoral district;
b) a political party that enjoys support of not less than 25% of voters according to the public opinion poll conducted in the respective majoritarian electoral district as defined by this Law, as identified by not less than two successive surveys conducted during the election year;
c) a majoritarian candidate nominated by an initiative group of voters that enjoys support of not less than 25% of voters according to the public opinion poll conducted in the respective majoritarian electoral district as defined in this Law, as identified by not less than two successive surveys conducted during the election year.
11. For the purposes of this Law, a public opinion poll shall meet the following requirements:
a) it shall be based on the acknowledged scientific methodology of representative random selection that provides 95% credibility of results with a margin of error not exceeding 3%;
b) it shall be published after double-checking the credibility of the methodology of the public opinion poll and objectivity of its results;
c) it shall be feasible to provide convincing scientific explanation if there are significant discrepancies or changes in the results of the same or other comparative public opinion polls;
d) it shall not constitute a tool for manipulating public opinion or fundraising and it shall not be conducted via telephone, mail, and/or internet;
e) it shall be based on transparent methodology that enables providing an independent double-check of the results;
f) while publishing the results, the following shall be specified:
f.a) an organisation having conducted a public opinion poll
f. b) a person having ordered or funded a public opinion poll
f. c) the exact formulation and sequence of questions put in a public opinion poll
f.d) the time of conducting field opinion poll
f.e) the number of individuals interviewed and the method of selection
f.f) in what area or among what category of people the selection was conducted
f.g) whether the survey is based on the opinions of all respondents
f.h) the number of respondents who refused to participate in the poll, who did not answer a question, or who could not be interviewed
f.i) the sample size
f.j) the margin of error
f.k) information about any other factors that might have caused a significant impact on the results.
12. The Public Broadcaster and Ajara TV and Radio of the Public Broadcaster (legal entities under public law) shall be obliged to allot airtime for pre-election advertising for all other parties and electoral blocs, other than the qualified electoral subjects, and the airtime shall be equally distributed among these subjects.
13. If the parties united in an electoral bloc used free airtime before uniting in the bloc, the free advertising time used thereby (except for the free airtime period of the party being the first in the list of the bloc) shall be deducted from the free airtime period to be allotted for the bloc, as an electoral subject, following its creation.
14. The obligation to allot free airtime provided for by this article shall be solely applied to the local broadcaster in the course of by-elections.
15. The GNCC shall determine the procedure for participation and use of the media in the electoral process, shall supervise the observance of provisions under this Law by any broadcaster, and shall give respective response to violations of those provisions. The GNCC shall purchase the services necessary for media monitoring according to the legislation of Georgia.
16. It is prohibited to broadcast any paid and/or free pre-election advertising through TV or radio on polling day.
17. (Deleted – 12.6.2015, No 3695).
18. (Deleted – 12.6.2015, No 3695).
19. (Deleted – 12.6.2015, No 3695).
20. (Deleted – 12.6.2015, No 3695).
21. (Deleted – 12.6.2015, No 3695).
Organic Law of Georgia No 6605 of 29 June 2012 – website, 16.7.2012
Organic Law of Georgia No 834 of 12 July 2013 – website, 25.7.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 877 of 27 July 2013 – website, 20.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 3695 of 12 June 2015 – website, 15.6.2015
Chapter VII - Election/Referendum Funding
Article 52 - Financial support for preparation and conduct of elections/referenda
1. Costs incurred by the Electoral Administration of Georgia for preparation and conduct of elections/referenda, as well as its activity carried out within the term of its office shall be funded from the State Budget of Georgia.
2. The CEC shall, on an annual basis and according to the procedures defined by this Law, submit to the Parliament of Georgia a budget statement of the Electoral Administration of Georgia for the following year in order to determine the budgetary financing for the following year.
3. If the budgetary funds allocated for the preparation and conduct of elections/referenda are not deposited into the CEC account within the time frame established by this Law, the CEC shall have the right to file an action in the district/city court of Georgia.
4. Enforcement of the allocation of funds to the CEC may not be carried out from the State Budget of Georgia intended for enforcement of court judgments.
5. The Electoral Administration of Georgia, represented by the CEC, may receive grants from persons duly authorised by law. The grant shall be used according to the agreement between the CEC and the authorised person.
6. For the purpose of unimpeded conduct of elections during an election/referendum, the Electoral Administration of Georgia shall have the right to conduct state procurement under simplified procedures as provided for by the Law of Georgia on State Procurement.
7. Lodging a complaint against actions/decisions of the CEC or a tender commission regarding state procurement during the election/pre-election period may not result in the suspension of procurement procedures.
Article 53 - Funds necessary for elections/referenda
1. The CEC shall, not later than 55 days before polling, submit to the Ministry for Finance of Georgia a plan for funding the preparation and conduct of elections/referenda.
2. The Ministry for Finance of Georgia shall, not later than 50 days before polling day, according the submitted plan, deposit into the CEC account the funds allocated from the State Budget of Georgia for elections/referenda.
3. The CEC shall by ordinance regulate the distribution and use of election funds, necessary for the conduct of elections, by election commissions.
4. The CEC shall, not later than 45 days before polling day, deposit funds allocated for a DEC into its current account.
5. A DEC shall, not later than 30 days after polling, cease all settlements with organisations and individuals and shall, within 10 days, deposit funds remaining in its account into the CEC account. A DEC shall, within two weeks after depositing the account balance funds, submit a financial report to the CEC.
Article 54 - Election/referendum campaign expense
1. An election/referendum campaign shall be funded from:
a) the funds of a political union if the party independently participates in the election/referendum;
b) the funds of the first party on the list of an electoral bloc if political unions come together as one electoral subject;
c) the election funds opened by an initiative group of voters to fund the campaign of an independent candidate.
2. The campaign expense shall mean the amount of funds designated for the election/referendum campaign of an electoral subject, as well as all types of goods and services obtained free of charge (calculated at market prices), except for the cost of free airtime, as defined by this Law.
3. A candidate nominated by an electoral subject shall use the fund of the electoral subject nominating the candidate.
4. An electoral subject shall be obliged to submit to the State Audit Office of Georgia the information about the bank account, from which the necessary costs shall be funded for an election campaign.
5. Election/referendum campaign funds shall be the money deposited into the relevant bank account, as well as all goods and services received free of charge (calculated at market prices).
6. During elections, an electoral subject may not use other financial means than the respective funds.
7. Restrictions defined by the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Unions of Citizens shall apply to the election/referendum campaign funds and sources of funding, except for the exclusion provided for by the eighth paragraph of this article.
8. Where an electoral bloc finances the election campaign, the parties united in the electoral bloc may, without restriction, transfer funds available in the fund of their political unions into the fund of the political union that is registered as number one on the list of the bloc.
Organic Law of Georgia No 6551 of 22 June 2012 – website, 29.6.2012
Article 55 – Legislation on transparency of election/referendum campaign expense
Transparency of election/referendum campaign expense shall be guaranteed by the provisions of the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Unions of Citizens. This Law shall apply to all electoral subject campaign expenses, including funding of campaigns of independent candidates.
Article 56 - Financing of an election campaign fund from the State Budget of Georgia
1. An electoral subject that obtains 5% or more of votes in a parliamentary election conducted under the proportional electoral system, or 10% or more of votes in the first round of a presidential election shall receive a one-time amount of not more than GEL 1,000,000 from the State Budget of Georgia to cover election campaign expenses incurred in both rounds. An electoral subject that obtains 3% or more of votes in the general elections for a Sakrebulo (the number of votes shall be calculated according to the votes obtained in the elections held under the proportional electoral system across the whole country) shall receive a one-time amount of not more than GEL 500 000 from the State Budget of Georgia to cover election campaign expenses incurred in both rounds of Sakrebulo/Mayoral/Gamgebeli elections. These electoral subjects shall receive such funding according to the information on election campaign expenses submitted by them, after submitting a report referred to in Article 57 of this Law.
2. To finance election campaign expenses from the State Budget of Georgia, an electoral subject shall apply in writing to the CEC within not later than 38 days before Election Day.
3. The relevant funds provided for by the first paragraph of this article shall be deposited into the account of an electoral subject not later than the 15th day following the summarisation of election results, based on the CEC summary protocol of election results.
4. To provide financial support to the election campaign of political parties, additional funds shall be allocated from the State Budget of Georgia to cover TV advertising expenses. Only those parties that became eligible for funding based on the results of the last general elections shall receive the sum provided for in this paragraph. To calculate the amount of the sum allocated to a party under this paragraph, the number of the votes obtained by the electoral subject in question in the last general elections shall be multiplied by three and divided by the number of the political associations making up the electoral subject. At the same time, the amount of the sum allocated for a party or an electoral bloc (regardless of the number of parties making up the bloc) running independently in the elections shall not exceed GEL 600 000. At least 15% of the sum allocated to the electoral subject shall be used for pre-election advertising in at least 7 broadcasters who are not national broadcasters.
5. The CEC shall pay broadcasters the expenses referred to in the fourth paragraph of this article based on a contract between a broadcaster and an electoral subject, within 10 business days after the contract is presented to the CEC.
Organic Law of Georgia No 877 of 27 July 2013 – website, 20.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 57 - Report of election campaign expense
1. Once an electoral bloc is registered with the CEC, political unions united in the bloc shall be obliged to suspend activities of their party funds and use solely the fund of the party being the first on the list of the electoral bloc.
2. An electoral subject, once in three weeks following the registration, shall be obliged to publish information, in the forms defined, about the sources, amounts, and dates of receipt of donations.
3. Electoral subjects shall, not later than one month after the announcement of final results of elections, submit to the State Audit Office a report of funds having been used up to the time of reporting, together with an audit (audit firm) report, specifying the source of funds. The electoral subjects that have received, based on preliminary data, the required number of votes as defined by this Law, shall submit the same to the State Audit Office not later than 18 days after the polling day. Any auditor (audit firm) operating in the territory of Georgia may carry out an audit.
4. Political unions united in an electoral bloc shall submit to the State Audit Office, together with the reports of their election campaign expense, a bank document evidencing the suspension of financial operations of the accounts of their funds.
5. Electoral subjects that nominated majoritarian candidates running in the second round of elections, not later than one month after the publication of final results of the second round, shall submit, in the form established by the State Audit Office, the information about the funds remaining unused by the electoral subject; while the electoral subjects that have received, based on preliminary data, the required number of votes as defined by this Law, shall submit the same not later than the eighth day after polling.
6. If the electoral subjects having received the required number of votes as provided for by this Law fail to submit a report of their election campaign funds within the specified time frame, or if any violation of the requirements provided for by law is confirmed, the State Audit Office shall notify the electoral subjects in writing and request them to remedy the deficiency and submit detailed information about the relevant violations in writing. If the State Audit Office deems that the violation is of an essential nature and could have affected the election results, it may recommend to the relevant election commission to apply to court and request to summarize election results without taking into account the votes received by that electoral subject.
7. The State Audit Office shall determine the form of a report for funds used for elections and the procedure for its completion.
Organic Law of Georgia No 6551 of 22 June 2012 – website, 29.6.2012
Organic Law of Georgia No 877 of 27 July 2013 – website, 20.8.2013
Chapter VIII - Polling
Article 58 - Arrangement of a polling station
1. The state authorities and local self-government bodies shall provide the premises and inventory required for the preparation and the conduct of elections to electoral commissions for temporary use free of charge. Furthermore, the above bodies shall cover the utility costs of the premises provided.
[1 1 . If an appropriate building is available, the building for an election precinct shall be accessible for every voter, and where such building is not available, the building allocated for the election precinct shall, where possible, be adapted by the allocating body for the polling day to ensure accessibility for every voter. (Shall become effective as from the day of scheduling regular parliamentary elections for 2016) ]
2. A PEC may not be established and a polling place may not be allocated in the same premises where the following are located:
a) a party;
b) state authorities or local self-government bodies, except when there are no other appropriate premises within the territory of an electoral precinct for the conduct of polling according to this Law; a DEC shall make an appropriate decision;
c) divisions of the police or the State Security Service of Georgia (except for PECs formed in exceptional cases).
21. A party or the headquarters of a party/electoral bloc/initiative group of voters may not be located in the building where the election commission is located.
3. (Deleted – 7.3.2014, No 2093).
4. At a polling station:
a) polling booths shall be set up so as to ensure that voters can complete ballot papers in secret. At least one booth with one pen shall be provided for every 500 voters;
b) places shall be allocated for registration of voters and special envelopes;
c) a transparent ballot box shall be installed in a visible place;
d) lists of voters, party lists, lists of candidates, procedures for filling out a ballot paper established by the CEC, as well as an extract from this Law defining the cases when a ballot paper is deemed invalid, and demonstration protocol(s) of polling results shall be posted in a visible place.
5. If any electoral subject entered into a ballot paper no longer runs in elections, a notice thereof shall be posted in a visible place both at the polling station and in the secret ballot booth (room).
6. In order to ensure that polling is secret, photo and video filming in a polling booth shall be prohibited.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 3973 of 8 July 2015 – website, 15.7.2015
Article 59 - Keeping order at polling stations on polling day
1. The PEC chairperson shall be responsible for keeping order at the polling station on polling day.
2. Decisions made by the PEC chairperson for keeping order at a polling station shall be binding upon all members of the election commission, upon all persons authorised to be present at the polling station and upon voters.
3. No armed individual may enter a polling station.
4. If the commission operations are hindered and order is violated, a PEC may expel a troublemaker from the place where the PEC is located. The chairperson and members of the commission shall sign a respective act drawn up for the expulsion. The act shall specify the first and last names of the troublemaker, as well as the numbers of the electoral district and electoral precinct, and account of the violation and the exact time of its commitment.
5. A PEC shall decide to remove a representative of an electoral subject from the premises.
6. If the polling process or safe movement of electoral documents under this Law is threatened at a polling station or its adjacent territory, at the request of the PEC chairperson, police officers may be summoned to the polling station and its adjacent territory. Police officers shall leave the polling station and adjacent territory with the consent of the PEC chairperson as soon as the disturbance of public order is removed.
Article 60 - Polling time and place
1. Polling shall take place at a polling station on the election (polling) day from 8:00 to 20:00 hours.
2. It is prohibited to lock the polling station during voting or to terminate or suspend voting, except when it is impossible to ensure the universal and equal suffrage and free expression of the will of voters.
3. The PEC chairperson shall unilaterally decide to close a polling station temporarily, to terminate or suspend polling, to re-open the polling station, and to resume polling, and he/she shall be fully responsible for making such a decision.
4. In the case of the temporary closure of a polling station, a PEC shall, immediately after polling is terminated or suspended, decide to approve or revoke the decision made by the PEC chairperson. After suspension of polling, the PEC shall have the right to decide to terminate polling and to close the electoral precinct. The PEC shall make the above decisions by a decree specifying the cause and the time of temporary closure of the polling station, termination, or suspension of polling. As soon as the cause of temporary closure of the polling place or suspension of polling is removed, the polling process shall be resumed by a decree of the commission chairperson. If polling is declared terminated, it shall not be resumed.
5. A voter may stay at the polling station only during the time required for voting.
6. A PEC shall declare polling completed any time before 20:00 at electoral precincts set up at military units, hospitals, and other inpatient facilities and hard-to-access areas, provided all voters on the list of voters participated in the polling.
7. It is prohibited to conduct polling before the day or after the day of polling, except for the cases provided for by the legislation of Georgia.
Article 61 - Opening of electoral precincts
1. An electoral precinct shall open at 7:00 a.m. If by this time the number of PEC members is less than 7, the higher DEC shall be immediately informed thereof, and it shall immediately make an appropriate decision.
2. Polling procedures from the time of opening an electoral precinct up to the time of starting polling shall be carried out in the following sequence:
a) immediately after opening an electoral precinct the polling day log-book shall be opened. All persons authorised to be present at the polling place shall sign the first and second pages of the book, and if necessary, the tenth and following pages as well;
b) the PEC chairperson shall inspect the integrity of the sealed package that contains a special seal of the PEC;
c) the PEC chairperson shall prepare papers for casting lots on same kind of sheets with the same pen, shall set a special PEC seal thereto and shall fold the papers so that the text inside cannot be read. The total number of blank and filled out papers shall be equal to the number of commission members participating in casting of lots. The commission chairperson shall conduct casting of lots in the presence of the commission members and persons authorised to be present at a polling station. The commission chairperson/deputy chairperson/secretary may not participate in the casting of lots. The papers shall be thrown onto the table and the commission members participating in casting of lots shall pick them up one by one;
d) the commission chairperson shall identify, by casting lots, 2 commission members from among the members appointed by parties to accompany a mobile ballot box (if necessary); moreover, those persons may not be the election commission members nominated by one electoral subject;
e) another casting of lots shall be conducted to assign other duties to the commission members, in which the following members shall be selected:
e.a) a commission member responsible for regulation of the flow of voters at a polling room and for verification of the inking of voters
e.b) commission members registering voters (at least 1 member per 300 voters) who shall also issue ballot papers after signing and sealing the assigned place on the reverse side of a ballot paper
e.c) a member of the commission supervising ballot boxes and special envelopes
f) after the casting of lots is finished, the PEC secretary shall make a note on the 3rd page of the polling day log-book about the results of assigning duties by casting lots;
g) the duties of a commission member defined by casting lots may be delegated to another commission member only with permission of the commission chairperson and that shall be noted by the commission secretary on the 5th page of the polling day log-book by specifying the time.
3. If the number of commission members in terms of the duties to be assigned appears on the polling day to be:
a) less by one member, the number of members of the commission registering voters shall be reduced;
b) less by two members, the commission deputy chairperson shall perform the duties of the commission member regulating the flow of voters in the polling room;
c) less by three members, the commission chairperson shall perform the duties of the member of the commission supervising ballot boxes and special envelopes.
4. The DEC shall decide the matter of remuneration of a PEC member who appears before the commission after the end of the lot casting procedure, while the PEC chairperson shall decide the issue of assigning duties to that person.
5. The commission chairperson shall select, by casting lots, not more than 2 representatives from among the electoral subjects present at the polling station, who shall observe the process of registering complaints. If the representatives find (identify) any violation during the registration of complaints, the commission shall decide on registration of the complaint under the determined procedure. Moreover, representatives selected through casting lots and a registrar of complaints (commission secretary) may not be a person nominated by one and the same electoral subject.
6. After the completion of casting lots, the PEC chairperson shall:
a) announce the number of voters according to unified and special lists, including mobile ballot box list;
b) check the integrity of packages of ballot papers and special envelopes and announce the number of ballot papers and special envelopes received;
c) check and put a seal with a unique number on main and mobile ballot boxes as determined by the CEC.
7. Each registrar of voters shall be given a notebook containing all types of ballot papers that shall be confirmed with signatures of the commission chairperson and the registrar on a front page. After all ballot papers are issued from the notebook, another notebook shall be given to the registrar, and so on.
8. (Deleted – 7.3.2014, No 2093).
9. The PEC secretary shall announce the data referred to in paragraph 6(a)(b) of this article and shall incorporate (except for the number of special envelopes) it into the demonstration protocol of polling results and the polling day log-book.
10. The first voter and all PEC members present shall sign control sheets that shall specify the precise time of inserting them into ballot boxes and first name, last name, place of registration and Georgian citizen’s personal number of the first voter. Before polling starts, the commission chairperson and secretary shall fill out control sheets (except for the data of the first voter) in three copies. The commission chairperson shall insert one copy of the control sheet into the main ballot box after the first voter appears, the second copy shall be inserted into a mobile ballot box, and the third copy shall be kept for the purpose of further comparison with the control sheets in the ballot boxes.
11. Polling shall start at 8:00 a.m. on the polling day.
Organic Law of Georgia No 864 of 25 July 2013 – website, 19.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 62 - Polling day log-book
1. The polling process at an electoral precinct as well as claims, complaints, and comments concerning the progress of polling shall be recorded in a polling day log-book (‘the log-book’).
2. The log-book shall be maintained in the Georgian language, while for those electoral districts for which ballot papers are also printed in other languages understandable to the local population, the log-book may also be maintained in the respective language.
3. The log-book shall be delivered to the commission secretary who is, together with the commission chairperson, in charge of recording every election procedure during the polling day in the log-book and of specifying the time of implementation thereof.
4. One copy of the log-book together with ballot papers shall be delivered to PECs.
5. The log-book shall be bound with a lace; the lace shall be sealed, the sheet to be sealed shall be signed by the DEC chairperson and secretary, and shall be affixed with a DEC seal. Every page of the log-book shall be numbered and the number of the electoral district and the electoral precinct shall be specified on each page.
6. The PEC secretary shall record on page 4 of the log-book the amount of unused ballot papers and envelopes delivered to persons accompanying a mobile ballot box that remain in the ballot box after polling.
7. The commission secretary shall record on page 5 of the log-book the information regarding temporary delegation of a commission member’s duties defined by casting lots to another member of the commission.
8. The commission secretary shall record on pages 6 and 9 of the log-book every set of data to be entered into the summary protocol when summarising polling results.
9. All persons authorised to be present at a polling place may record in the log-book all claims, complaints, and comments related to the polling procedure on the polling day (page 10 and the following pages of the log-book shall be used for this purpose), and may specify witnesses (if any). Persons making records in the log-book shall specify their first and last names, and address as provided on the identity card of a citizen of Georgia.
10. No one shall have the right to prevent any person authorised to be present at a polling place from making records in the log-book.
11. The log-book shall be closed after polling results are summarised. It shall be signed by the chairperson and the secretary of the PEC and certified with the PEC seal. The log-book shall be sealed together with applications/complaints received and forwarded to the higher DEC together with the sealed documents specified in Article 67(51) and the summary protocol(s) of a PEC.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2289 of 17 April 2014 – website, 17.4.2014
Article 63 - Ballot papers and special envelopes
1. Ballot papers shall be printed under a CEC decree and according to the sample established by the CEC in the Georgian language, while in Abkhazia ballot papers shall be printed in the Georgian and Abkhazian languages, and if necessary, in other languages understandable to the local population.
2. For electoral precincts the CEC shall ensure the use of technologies that allow voters with vision disabilities to complete a ballot paper independently.
3. The CEC shall ensure the printing of ballot papers and the production of ballot boxes (main and mobile), while the relevant DEC shall be responsible for the accuracy of the data to be entered into ballot papers for the elections of a local self-government representative body Sakrebulo (except for the Tbilisi (capital city of Georgia) self-government body Sakrebulo). Ballot papers shall be printed under permanent supervision of observers and persons authorised by the CEC and DECs. Two commission members appointed by decree of the respective election commission and observer organisations registered under this Law may observe the process of printing of ballot papers (at every place of printing). The observer organisations shall agree upon nominating not more than 3 observers.
4. The respective election commission shall, within two days after adoption of the appropriate decree, publish data about the place where ballot papers are printed and ballot boxes are produced, as well as about the persons responsible for printing ballot papers and producing ballot boxes.
5. A person printing the ballot papers shall be personally responsible for the precise compliance of the number of ballot papers printed and transferred to the relevant election commission with the number of ballot papers ordered in order to make sure that no extra ballot papers are printed and disseminated.
6. The chairperson and secretary of an election commission shall be personally responsible for the storage and proper distribution of ballot papers in the election commission.
7. In order to provide a precise recording of ballot papers, each type of ballot paper shall be numbered sequentially (the number shall be specified on the counterfoil of a ballot paper; a ballot paper and its counterfoil shall be separated from each other by a perforated line) and bound in 50 copies in the form of a notebook. Each notebook shall specify on its cover page the type of ballot paper, the lines for a notebook number, numbers of ballot papers in the notebook, numbers and names of electoral districts and electoral precincts, the lines for signatures of a PEC chairperson and a PEC member (registrar of voters), to whom the notebook is to be delivered, as well as the line for recording the number of unused ballot papers.
8. The number of special envelopes delivered to each PEC shall equal to the total number of voters in an electoral precinct, while the number of ballot paper notebooks shall be equal to a multiple number of 50 of the total number of voters in an electoral precinct.
9. The CEC shall transfer ballot papers and special envelopes to DECs not later than two days before polling day. On the other hand, the DEC shall transfer ballot papers and special envelopes to PECs not later than 12 hours before polling starts.
10. The number of ballot papers and special envelopes shall be precisely registered. Two copies of a delivery and acceptance certificate shall be drawn up after the CEC transfers ballot papers and special envelopes to a DEC and the DEC transfers them to a PEC. A delivery and acceptance certificate shall specify the names of the commissions having transferred and having received ballot papers and special envelopes, the amount of special envelopes, the type of ballot papers, the amount of ballot paper notebooks (specifying their numbers and the numbers of ballot papers), the identity of persons having issued and having received them. A delivery and acceptance certificate shall be signed by the persons having issued and having received the documents (one copy of the certificate shall remain with the commission having transferred ballot papers and special envelopes, while another copy shall be given to the commission having received the ballot papers and special envelopes). A representative of the election commission that is given ballot papers and special envelopes shall request one copy of a delivery and acceptance certificate to be transferred to the respective DEC/PEC. A delivery and acceptance certificate shall represent public information.
11. Signatories to a delivery and acceptance certificate referred to in the tenth paragraph of this article shall, before drawing it up, and after determining the compliance of ballot paper information, count ballot papers and enter data into the delivery and acceptance certificate. Thereafter, ballot papers shall be sealed again and that shall be endorsed by the signatures of the parties.
12. The front page of a ballot paper shall include:
a) the name of an election/referendum and the date of the election/referendum;
b) the name and the number of an electoral district;
c) the number of an electoral precinct (on counterfoil of a ballot paper and on ballot paper itself);
d) during elections held under the proportional system – the serial number and name of the party/electoral bloc independently running in the elections; during the elections for the President of Georgia, the Mayor of a self-governing city (including Tbilisi), the Gamgebeli of a self-governing community and during the elections held under the majoritarian system – the serial number, first name, and last name of a candidate, and the name of a nominating electoral subject. If a presidential candidate of Georgia or any majoritarian candidate is nominated by an initiative group of voters, the word ‘independent’ shall be indicated next to the serial number in the ballot paper;
e) a referendum paper shall also specify the question to citizens concerning the referendum issue and options of possible answer: ‘yes’ and ‘no’;
f) the procedure for filling out a ballot paper.
13. If it turns out that a ballot paper was supposed to be in another electoral precinct/district or the quantity thereof does not comply with the one determined in advance, or it has a typographical or other defect, the higher election commission shall be immediately notified thereof, while the relevant election commission may, by an appropriate certificate, enter the actual number of ballot papers into the summary protocol.
14. The reverse page of a ballot paper shall specify the following:
a) the place for affixing a signature by the registrar of voters;
b) the place for affixing a special stamp by the registrar of voters.
15. If an electoral subject is withdrawn from an election, a stamp ‘withdrawn from election’ shall be placed on a ballot paper after the name of an electoral subject.
16. Ballot papers are state property. It is prohibited to take ballot papers out of a polling station, to take them away, or to destroy them on the polling day without permission.
17. Ballot papers shall be printed on a paper with protective signs and only the CEC shall have the right to order and purchase such papers.
18. The violation of the restrictions provided for by the sixteenth paragraph of this article, as well as the dissemination and use of forged ballot papers, is a criminal offence punishable by law.
19. A PEC shall issue a ballot paper(s) and special envelopes based on a list of voters against a Georgian citizen’s identity card, passport of a citizen of Georgia, refugee certificate for IDPs from the occupied territories of Georgia (together with the identity card of a citizen of Georgia).
20. Each voter shall be given one special envelope and the appropriate amount of ballot papers on the polling day.
21. Voters shall be given two types of ballot papers during elections for the Parliament of Georgia – one for majoritarian and the other for proportional elections.
22. A commission member acting as a registrar of voters shall endorse the issuance of a ballot paper(s) by his/her signature on the list of voters.
23. Voters shall endorse receipt of a ballot paper(s) by his/her signature on the list of voters.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 64 - Inking of voters
1. Inking of voters shall be conducted in every electoral precinct (except for the cases referred to in the fifth paragraph of this article), which implies applying of invisible and nonhazardous indelible ink on the voter's right thumbnail or forefinger nail (in the case of impossibility to perform this action, the invisible and indelible ink shall be applied on the voter’s right nail of another finger, and if this is also impossible, the same procedure shall be conducted on the left hand).
2. A voter shall go through the inking verification procedure provided by the respective election commission member upon entering a polling room. The commission member shall illuminate the place for inking with a special device and after making sure that a voter has not been inked before, he/she shall grant the voter the right to participate in polling. If the device determines that a voter has been inked before, the voter shall be restricted from participating in polling and his/her name shall be recorded in the log-book.
3. A voter who has gone through the inking verification procedure shall move to the registration desk, where the registrar of voters shall ink a voter and issue a ballot paper(s). In the case of refusal to inking, a voter shall have no right to vote and a ballot paper(s) shall not be issued to him/her.
4. If a member of the election commission, an observer present at an electoral precinct and/or a representative of an electoral subject becomes suspicious of the inking or inking verification procedure, he/she shall have the right to require the repeated conduct of the procedure referred to in the second and/or third paragraph of this article. The same persons shall have the right to require respective responses to any identified violation of the inking procedure.
5. Inking shall not apply to penitentiary institutions, hospitals and other inpatient facilities (for patients), or to mobile voters.
6. A voter who has gone through the inking procedure and has participated in an election may not vote again at the same or another electoral precinct.
7. An individual violating the requirements referred to in this article shall be held liable under the legislation of Georgia.
Organic Law of Georgia No 3562 of 1 May 2015 – website, 18.5.2015
Article 65 - Conduct of polling
1. Each voter shall vote personally. It is restricted to vote in the place of another person.
2. Voting shall be conducted under the procedure and in the sequence as follows:
a) on entering the polling room, a voter shall be checked for ink; if a voter is not inked, he/she shall be allowed to vote. A commission member responsible for regulating the voters flow in the polling room shall allow a voter into the polling room only after the voter presents his/her identity document and if not more than two voters are standing at the registration desk that is designated for that voter;
b) after entering the polling room a voter shall go to the registration desk corresponding to the first letter of his/her last name in the list of voters, and shall present to the registrar of voters a Georgian citizen’s ID card or passport; an internally displaced person (IDP) from the occupied territories of Georgia shall additionally present an IDP card. The registrar of voters shall check that the voter's registration data in the presented document(s) correspond to the data on the lists of voters, and that the voter's face and the photos in the presented document(s) and the photos in the lists of voters match. If the match is verified, the registrar of voters shall ink the voter and sign in a respective box in the list of voters, after which the voter will confirm the receipt of ballot paper(s) by his/her signature. When issuing a ballot paper(s), a registrar of voters shall sign in the appropriate box on the back of the ballot paper(s) and certify the ballot paper(s) with a special seal;
c) after endorsing a ballot paper(s), a voter shall enter a secret polling booth and fill out the ballot paper(s) as defined by this Law. After filling out the ballot paper(s), the voter shall fold it (them) so that it is impossible to see who/what he/she voted for;
d) a voter shall take the folded ballot paper(s) to a desk standing separately, shall independently take a special envelope and put the ballot paper(s) therein. Only a voter shall have the right to put a ballot paper(s) in a special envelope. An election commission member may not open the filled out ballot paper(s) or otherwise violate the secrecy of voting;
e) not more than 1 voter at a time shall be allowed at a ballot box;
f) a commission member supervising a ballot box and special envelopes shall be permanently present by the ballot box. He/she shall keep closed the ballot box opening for inserting envelopes and shall open it only after making sure that a voter has only one envelope in hand;
g) after the end of the election, the ballot box opening for inserting envelopes shall be sealed.
21. If the verification under paragraph (2)(b) of this article confirms that the registration data (except for a photo) contained in the presented document(s) correspond to the data contained in the list of voters, but the registrar of voters considers that the face of the voter does not match the photo in the presented document or the photo in the list of voters, the registrar of voters shall apply to the PEC chairperson. The PEC chairperson shall allow the voter to vote after performing the procedure specified in paragraph (22) of this article.
22. If the PEC chairperson:
a) confirms inconsistency defined in paragraph (21) of this article, the PEC secretary shall make a record in the log-book, on a specially designated page, specifying the fact of inconsistency, the voter's name, last name and serial number in the list of voters. That record shall be certified by the signatures of a PEC chairperson and a PEC secretary. The PEC secretary shall attach the photocopy of the document presented by the voter to the log-book, and certify it with his/her signature;
b) does not confirm the inconsistency defined in the paragraph (21) of this article but the registrar of voters, who detected the inconsistency, does not agree with him/her, the registrar of voters shall record and certify with signature his/her special opinion in the log-book, on a specially designated page, after which the PEC secretary shall add to that record the voter's name, surname and the serial number in the list of voters and certify the record with his/her signature. The PEC secretary shall attach the photocopy of the document presented by the voter to the logbook, and certify it with his/her signature.
3. It is restricted for any other person to be present at the moment of filling out a ballot paper. A voter who is unable to fill out a ballot paper independently may ask any person for help in the secret polling booth except for:
a) a member of an election commission
b) a candidate
c) a representative of an electoral subject
d) an observer.
4. If a voter or a PEC member spoils a ballot paper or a special envelope, he/she shall inform the PEC chairperson thereof, re-submit the spoiled ballot paper/special envelope, and get a new one. A corner of the spoiled ballot paper/special envelope shall be cut off in the presence of a voter, the word ’spoiled‘ shall be written thereon, and then the spoiled ballot paper/special envelope shall be signed by the PEC chairperson and stored separately.
5. Members of a PEC and persons authorised to be present at a polling place may require a voter, before he/she goes into the polling booth and places the ballot paper(s) into a special envelope, to show them that he/she has the exact number of ballot papers and special envelopes in hand as defined by this Law. A voter shall be obliged to comply with this requirement.
6. A PEC secretary shall, on the polling day, count the number of signatures of voters in the list of voters twice, at 12:00 and at 17:00, and record the number of signatures of voters in the PEC demonstration protocol and log-book.
7. If the seal integrity of a ballot box is lost during elections, a PEC shall stop the voting process and shall decide by decree whether or not to re-seal the ballot box and resume polling.
8. A polling place shall be closed at 20:00. Voters standing in the line by that time may vote. For this purpose, one of the election commission members shall, by order of the PEC chairperson, register the first and last names of voters waiting in the line and inform the PEC chairperson about the number thereof, while the commission secretary shall enter the number of voters standing in the line into the log-book. The PEC chairperson shall announce that only voters standing in the line have the right to vote.
9. After closing a polling place, authorised persons of a PEC set up for exceptional cases shall take the ballot box and electoral documents of an electoral precinct established for exceptional cases to a polling place pre-designated by a DEC.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2289 of 17 April 2014 – website, 17.4.2014
Article 66 - Mobile voting
1. The mobile voting procedure shall start at 9:00 and end at 19:00. A mobile ballot box shall be returned to an electoral precinct not later than 20:00.
2. Persons referred to in Article 33 of this Law shall have the right to cast a vote through mobile voting.
3. From 9:00 on polling day, the PEC chairperson shall provide the election commission members accompanying a mobile ballot box with the mobile ballot box list, special envelopes, and necessary number of ballot papers signed and sealed with a special seal by the registrar of voters.
4. Two members of a PEC selected by casting lots and persons authorised to be present at a polling place shall participate, at their own discretion, in polling conducted according to the location of voters.
5. If a vehicle is used during mobile voting, a PEC shall allocate space in the vehicle for 2 observers selected by casting lots from among persons authorised to be present at a polling station.
6. A voter shall cast a vote through mobile voting in case his/her actual whereabouts is assigned to the territory of an electoral precinct where he/she is registered.
7. One transparent mobile ballot box shall be used to conduct polling according to the actual whereabouts of voters. The PEC secretary shall enter into the log-book the amount of ballot papers and special envelopes delivered to the election commission members accompanying a mobile ballot box. After the end of polling, the amount of ballot papers and special envelopes in a ballot box as well as unused ones shall be summarised in order to make a comparison thereafter. After the completion of the above procedure, a corner of each unused ballot paper and special envelope shall be cut off, the word ’spoiled‘ shall be written thereon, and then it shall be signed by the PEC chairperson and stored separately. All procedures related to polling at an electoral precinct shall apply to mobile voting as well. The powers of representatives and observers shall also be identical.
8. If, in the cases provided for by Article 33 of this Law, both the place of registration and the actual whereabouts of a voter are assigned to one and the same electoral district, the voter shall have the right to participate in elections held under the proportional and majoritarian electoral systems and a respective ballot paper and special envelope shall be issued to him/her. Otherwise, a voter shall have the right to participate only in elections held under the proportional electoral system.
9. Polling procedures referred to in the eighth paragraph of this article shall be conducted by the PEC on the territory where there is a military unit, a hospital or other inpatient facility or a penitentiary establishment, in which a voter is located.
10. After the end of polling, the mobile ballot box opening shall be sealed so that it cannot be opened without damaging the seal.
11. Polling procedure through mobile voting may not take place for the voters staying abroad on polling day.
Organic Law of Georgia No 1273 of 20 September 2013 – website, 2.10.2013
Article 67 - Procedures to be conducted before opening ballot boxes
1. After the end of polling, a PEC chairperson shall select by lot at least 3 counting officers under Article 61(2)(c) of this Law, while observers shall select from within their members not more than 2 supervisors by mutual agreement (if observers fail to come to an agreement, the PEC chairperson shall select 2 supervisors from among the observers by lot).
2. The commission chairperson shall select by casting lots not more than 2 representatives from among the representatives present at an electoral precinct who shall participate in the process of counting valid and/or invalid ballot papers, together with the counting officers selected from among the commission members by casting lots. Moreover, representatives of the electoral subjects who are at the same time the counting officers selected by casting lots from among the commission members appointed by the same electoral subjects shall not participate in casting lots for above-mentioned representatives.
3. Counting officers shall sequentially count the total number of voters participating in polling by unified, special, and mobile ballot box lists of voters. The PEC secretary shall immediately incorporate the results into a demonstration protocol and a polling day log-book, and then wrap and seal separately the unified, special, and mobile ballot box lists of voters.
4. The commission secretary shall cut an edge off any unused ballot paper. Unused and spoiled ballot papers shall be bound in separate packages. Each package shall specify the name and number of an electoral precinct, and the type of ballot paper.
5. Packages shall be sealed and signed by counting officers and the PEC chairperson.
51. Upon the completion of the above procedures, the PEC secretary shall record the number of cases defined in Article 65(22), the number of documents attached to the log-book and shall enter the relevant data into the log-book. Then the secretary shall pack and seal the documents, indicate the number of the electoral precinct, the type of the document and sign the sealed package.
6. Polling procedures at an electoral precinct set up in exceptional cases shall be conducted according to the general procedures. After the end of polling, a PEC established in exceptional cases shall seal the ballot box opening, list of voters, and unused and spoiled ballot papers. The ballot box, list of voters, and sealed unused and spoiled ballot papers shall immediately be submitted to an electoral precinct (main electoral precinct) pre-designated by decree of a DEC.
7. The main electoral precinct shall open the ballot box of an electoral precinct established in exceptional cases defined in the eighth paragraph of this article, and shall mix special envelopes and ballot papers from that box with the special envelopes and ballot papers available at the main electoral precinct.
8. A ballot box of an electoral precinct established in exceptional cases shall be opened after mobile and main ballot boxes of the main electoral precinct are opened. The results of the main electoral precinct and the electoral precinct established in exceptional cases shall be recorded in one summary protocol.
Organic Law of Georgia No 6571 of 28 June 2012 – website, 28.6.2012
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 2289 of 17 April 2014 – website, 17.4.2014
Article 68 - Opening of ballot boxes
1. The PEC chairperson shall check the seal integrity on a ballot box in the presence of PEC members and persons authorised to be present at a polling place.
2. If the seal integrity is lost but a PEC considers that this has not led to violation of the requirements of this Law, the procedure of summarising results shall be resumed under a PEC decree. Otherwise, a ballot box shall be sealed and the PEC decree and the sealed ballot box shall immediately be submitted to the higher DEC.
3. Counting officers shall move ballot boxes to a desk standing separately and take their places on opposite sides so as to maintain two meters distance between PEC members and persons authorised to be present at the polling station. Two supervisors and two representatives selected from among the observers shall stand next to counting officers.
4. A PEC shall first open mobile ballot boxes. Counting officers shall take special envelopes from the mobile ballot box and place them on the desk, check whether there is a control sheet in the mobile ballot box and compare it with the control sheet kept with the PEC for comparison. If any difference between the two control sheets is identified or if the control sheet is missing in the mobile ballot box, all special envelopes and ballot papers shall be bundled in one package and labeled ’invalid‘ and then submitted to the higher DEC after the polling and vote counting procedures are completed at the electoral precinct. After this procedure, counting officers shall open the main ballot box.
5. Counting officers shall take special envelopes and ballot papers from the main ballot box and place them on a separate desk, check whether there is a control sheet in the main ballot box and compare it with the control sheet kept by the PEC chairperson for comparison. If any difference between the two control sheets is identified or the control sheet is missing in the main ballot box, all special envelopes and ballot papers shall be bundled in one package and sealed. A respective protocol shall be drawn up and immediately submitted to the higher DEC. If violations do not occur, counting officers shall mix special envelopes from the main and mobile ballot boxes and start counting ballot papers.
Article 69 - Counting of votes
1. A PEC shall count ballot papers in compliance with the following procedure:
a) the first counting officer shall take a ballot paper out of a special envelope, announce for whom the vote has been cast and transfer one type of ballot paper to the second counting officer, another type of ballot paper to the third counting officer, etc., while he/she shall place special envelopes separately. Counting officers shall sort ballot papers separately by the votes given to each electoral subject;
b) unidentified type of ballot papers and ballot papers deemed by counting officers invalid shall be placed separately from ballot papers raising doubt about their validity.
2. One of supervisors selected from among observers shall stand next to the second counting officer as referred to in paragraph 1(a) of this article, and another supervisor shall stand next to the third counting officer as referred to in the same subparagraph. Supervisors shall have the right to observe the entire procedure of counting votes, make remarks on errors, require rectification of errors, and unless the requirement is met, appeal the PEC action to the higher DEC, and thereafter in court. Persons authorised to be present at a polling station may require the counting officer to put aside any ballot paper raising doubt about its validity.
3. A standard ballot paper shall be deemed invalid only in the following cases:
a) the ballot paper is not endorsed by the signature and special seal of a registrar of voters;
b) it is impossible to determine for which electoral subject a voter cast a vote;
c) the number of ballot papers in a special envelope exceeds the number required;
d) the special envelope does not comply with the sample;
e) the ballot paper in a ballot box is without a special envelope;
f) the ballot paper was intended for another electoral precinct.
4. Any corrections, changes, or amendments to a ballot paper after a voter casts a vote shall give rise to liability under the legislation of Georgia.
5. Ballot papers raising doubt about their validity shall be verified after all ballot papers are sorted into different categories. A PEC shall decide by voting whether each ballot paper is valid. Ballot papers that are deemed valid shall be added to the pile of valid ballot papers, while ballot papers that are deemed invalid shall be added to the pile of invalid ballot papers.
6. After the procedure referred to in the fifth paragraph of this article, the ballot papers that have been determined to be invalid shall be counted and labeled ’invalid’. Such ballot papers shall be bundled in a package and signed by counting officers and the PEC chairperson, and the PEC secretary shall immediately enter the quantity thereof in the demonstration protocol and the log-book. Valid ballot papers intended for another electoral precinct shall be packed in a separate bundle and the quantity thereof shall be entered only in the log-book.
7. Each package of ballot papers shall be packed and sealed in an envelope of appropriate size. The number of the electoral precinct and the type and quantity of ballot papers contained therein shall be specified on each package.
8. After the procedure referred to in the seventh paragraph of this article, the number of votes cast for each electoral subject shall be counted and ballot papers shall be packed according to the procedure referred to in the ninth paragraph of this article. The bundle of ballot papers belonging to each electoral subject shall separately be wrapped and sealed. The number of votes obtained by each electoral subject shall immediately be recorded by the PEC secretary in the demonstration protocol and the log-book.
9. Every 10 ballot papers shall be bound with metal clips and each package, either complete or incomplete, shall specify on the top of the package the quantity of ballot papers in the package. The packages shall be bound in a single bundle. The bundles shall specify on the top of the bundle the name and the number of an electoral precinct, the information about an electoral subject(s) (name, first and last names), the number of votes received by an electoral subject(s), and the number of ballot papers in the bundle.
Article 70 - Summary protocols of polling and election results
1. Polling and elections results shall be entered in summary protocols of polling and election results of the CEC, DECs, and PECs.
2. A summary protocol is an individual administrative-legal act evidencing the polling and election results. A summary protocol and its copy, certified as defined by this Law, shall have equal legal force.
3. It is prohibited to modify data in a summary protocol. The higher election commission shall consider whether a summary protocol is void. Modification of any summary protocol data shall give rise to liability of the respective election commission chairperson and secretary as defined by this Law.
4. If any mistake is made during filling out a summary protocol, in order to correct it, an inscription ‘corrected’ shall immediately be put alongside the respective data in a summary protocol. An election commission shall draw up an amendment protocol that shall specify the amended data entered into a summary protocol and the date and time of drawing up the protocol. All members of an election commission attending the session shall sign the amendment protocol. A commission seal shall be put on the amendment protocol, the amendment protocol shall be registered in the election commission registration book, and shall be attached to the summary protocol in which data were amended.
5. Each type of summary protocols (summary protocols of PEC polling results and summary protocols of DEC polling and election results) shall be assigned individual numbers that shall not be reiterated.
6. Summary protocols shall be registered accurately. The CEC shall ensure the printing of summary protocols. Summary protocols shall be printed under the constant supervision of observers and persons authorised by the CEC. The person printing summary protocols shall be solely responsible for exact compliance of the number of printed protocols transferred to the CEC with that of ordered protocols in order to prevent printing and dissemination of an excess number of protocols.
7. An election commission chairperson shall be responsible for keeping the protocols in the election commission and for distributing them as required.
8. A DEC shall provide a PEC with each type of summary protocol of polling results at an electoral precinct.
9. Summary protocols shall be printed on paper with protective markings that can only be ordered and purchased by the CEC.
10. Summary protocols shall be printed in the Georgian language, while in Abkhazia they shall be printed in the Abkhazian language, and for electoral districts for which ballot papers have been printed in a different language understandable to the local population, summary protocols shall be printed in the corresponding language.
Article 71 - Drawing up summary protocols of polling results by PECs
1. Upon determination of all data referred to in the third paragraph of this article, the PEC secretary shall, in agreement with the PEC chairperson and according to all available information, draw up each type of summary protocol of polling results.
2. Two summary protocols shall be drawn up during the Parliamentary elections of Georgia and the elections to a Sakrebulo. One protocol shall be prepared according to the results of the elections held under the proportional electoral system, and the other protocol shall be prepared according to results of the elections held under the majoritarian electoral system. During the elections for the President of Georgia, for the Mayor of a self-governing city (including Tbilisi), the Gamgebeli of a self-governing community and during by-elections, one summary protocol shall be prepared.
3. A summary protocol of polling results shall specify the following:
a) the number and the name of an electoral district, the number of an electoral precinct
b) the number of an electoral precinct set up in exceptional cases (if any) that is attached to the main electoral precinct
c) the name of elections/referenda
d) the polling date (it shall also specify if it is a repeat voting or the second round of elections)
e) the numbers of seals of PECs and registrars of voters
f) the number of voters in an unified list
g) the number of voters in a special list
h) the number of signatures of voters participating in elections in the list of voters at 12:00 and 17:00
i) the total number of voters participating in elections (according to signatures in the lists of voters)
j) the number of received ballot papers
k) the number of invalid ballot papers
l) the name of electoral subjects, the number of votes cast therefor
m) the date and time of drawing up of the protocol
n) the protocol data, with which a PEC member disagrees (a commission member shall make this note in the column ‘dissenting opinion’ and shall sign it).
4. All PEC members shall be obliged to sign a summary protocol of polling results, thus evidencing their presence at an electoral precinct. The protocol shall be endorsed by the PEC seal.
5. If a PEC member does not agree with the data entered in a PEC summary protocol of polling results, he/she shall have the right to attach his/her dissenting opinion to the protocol in writing.
6. If a PEC member expresses a dissenting opinion, it is still the PEC member’s duty to sign a summary protocol of polling results.
7. A summary protocol of polling results (attached with dissenting opinions of PEC members), together with a sealed package of ballot papers and lists of voters, shall immediately be submitted to the higher DEC, and the higher DEC shall submit the same protocol, together with the DEC summary protocol, to the CEC.
8. A PEC shall be responsible for posting a copy of a summary protocol of polling results for public review. A PEC shall, if requested, immediately give a copy of the protocol (attached with dissenting opinions of commission members) to representatives of a party/electoral bloc/initiative group of voters or to a PEC member appointed by a party and to observers from an observer organisation. The copy of a protocol shall be certified by the PEC seal and signatures of the PEC chairperson and secretary (these protocols shall have the same legal force as PEC summary protocols for polling results). Any representative/observer shall endorse the receipt of a protocol by signing in the PEC log-book.
9. From the day following the polling day, a DEC shall issue the copies of summary protocols for polling results. Those copies shall be endorsed by signatures of the DEC chairperson and secretary and by the DEC seal (those protocols shall have the same legal force as PEC summary protocols for polling results). Any representative/observer shall endorse the receipt of a protocol by signing in the DEC log-book.
10. Failure to issue a summary protocol of polling results, if requested as defined by this Law, shall give rise to the liability of authorised persons of a commission as defined by this Law.
11. A summary protocol of polling results, together with lists of voters and signatures of the voters participating in polling, shall be delivered to a DEC. A DEC, on the other hand, shall deliver the same lists to the CEC that shall sort and archive them.
12. After the completion of all polling procedures, the registration book of a PEC shall be closed, signed by the PEC chairperson and secretary, and endorsed by a PEC seal.
13. A PEC seal shall be sealed in a separate package. The package shall be signed by the PEC chairperson, its secretary, and other PEC members.
14. It is the duty of a PEC to submit immediately the copy of a summary protocol of polling results, upon filling it out, to the CEC through all technical means available (including fax, where possible).
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 72 - Procedures for drawing up and submitting applications/complaints on polling day
1. An application/complaint shall be delivered to the PEC chairperson, his/her deputy, or the secretary of the commission. The commission secretary shall register the application/complaint in the log-book and send a notice (signed by the secretary) to the applicant/complainant specifying the date, time, and registration number of the application/complaint submitted to the commission.
2. An application/complaint shall include:
a) the date and time of drawing up the application/complaint
b) the first name, last name, and place of registration of the applicant/complainant
c) the number of the electoral precinct
d) if there is a witness - his/her first name, last name, and place of registration
e) the essence and time of the violation
f) if an offender is identified - all possible data obtained about him/her
g) an explanation by the offender (if any)
h) other additional information.
3. The PEC chairperson shall immediately respond to the application/complaint and eliminate any existing violation. If the commission chairperson fails to eliminate the violation, or otherwise refuses to respond to the application/complaint, the applicant/complainant has the right to immediately submit the application/complaint about the violation to the respective higher DEC. The DEC shall be required to take respective measures to eliminate the violation, and in the course of examination of the application/complaint, discuss the possibility of annulling the polling results of the respective precinct.
4. If the PEC eliminates the violation identified in the application/complaint, the respective note ‘violation eliminated’ shall be made in the log-book specifying the exact time.
Article 73 - Applications and complaints about violation of polling and vote counting procedures
1. An application/complaint about a violation of polling procedure in an electoral precinct shall be drafted immediately upon identifying any violation of this Law as defined by Article 72 of this Law, from 7:00 until a ballot box is opened on polling day.
2. An application/complaint about violations that occurred during the procedure of counting votes or summarising polling results and requesting a revision or annulment of polling results shall be drawn up within the period from opening a ballot box until drafting a summary protocol of polling results as defined by Article 72 of this Law.
3. A PEC secretary shall register the application/complaint referred to in the second paragraph of this article in a log-book. The PEC shall forward the application/complaint to the higher DEC within two days after the polling day (according to the procedure contained in this Law for submitting documents to DECs). The applicant/complainant may submit their application/complaint about the same violation directly to the DEC within the same time frame.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 74 - Consideration of applications/complaints about counting votes and summarising polling results
1. A DEC secretary shall, upon the receipt of an application/complaint referred to in Article 73 of this Law, register the application/complaint in the DEC registration book. The commission shall review the application/complaint and make a decision within two days after its registration with the DEC. The DEC shall deliver a decision by issuing a decree that may be appealed only in court under this Law.
2. If the procedure for submission of information referred to in paragraph 2(a-d) of Article 72 of this Law is not met, the respective official who is in charge of receiving applications/complaints in an election commission shall identify the omission for the applicant/complainant and define a reasonable term for its rectification. The commission secretary shall make a respective note thereof in the commission registration book. The note shall be signed by the applicant/complainant and the respective official of the commission. Unless the omission is rectified within the period defined, the respective election commission shall apply the procedure referred to in the fifth paragraph of this article.
3. The applicant/complainant shall have the right to rectify any omission within the period established by an authorised official of the election commission by submitting a similar application/complaint about the violation where the grounds for the omission shall be eliminated and/or the applicant shall submit an application specifying the data of the determined omission.
4. If the omission is rectified, a respective note shall be made in the registration book of the election commission specifying the exact time and date of rectification, and it shall be signed by the person rectifying the omission and the respective official of the commission.
5. An application/complaint submitted in violation of the procedures referred to in Articles 72 and 73 of this Law and the third and fourth paragraphs of this article shall not be considered upon a decision made by the respective election commission.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 75 - Summarisation of polling and election results in DECs
1. Based on the summary protocols of PECs, and taking into account the results of the examination of the violations of the electoral legislation of Georgia, a DEC shall summarise polling results of a referendum, of the elections for the President of Georgia, for the Parliament of Georgia, for a Sakrebulo, for the Mayor/Gamgebeli not later than the 11th day after polling day. The DEC shall also determine the results of the Parliamentary elections of Georgia and those of Mayoral/Gamgebeli elections, and shall draw up summary protocols on polling and election results in electoral districts. Those protocols shall be forwarded to the CEC not later than the following day.
2. A summary protocol of the DEC polling/election results shall include the following:
a) the number and name of the electoral district
b) the name of the election/referendum
c) the polling date (it shall also specify if it is a repeat voting or a second round of election)
d) the number of voters in the electoral district
e) the number of voters in the electoral district participating in the election
f) the number of received ballot papers
g) the number of invalid ballot papers
h) the names of electoral subjects, and the number of votes cast for electoral subjects
i) the number of valid ballot papers (the total number of votes cast for all electoral subjects)
j) the identifying number of the electoral precinct where polling results were annulled, the total number of voters in the same precinct and the basis for annulment of polling results
k) the number of ballot papers issued to the electoral precincts where polling results were annulled
l) the date and time of drawing up a protocol
m) the protocol data with which a DEC member disagrees (this note shall be made and signed by the commission member in the box ‘dissenting opinion’)
n) the data enumerated in a summary protocol of election results in this paragraph, as well as the names of the person(s) elected, the names of persons advanced to the second round, and the name of the person elected in the second round.
3. If a DEC annuls polling results of any electoral precinct(s) and if the total number of voters in this precinct(s) is such that a repeat voting shall not affect the identification of person(s) elected or person(s) moved to the second round, the DEC shall determine who is the person elected or who is the person(s) moved to the second round without taking into account the results from that precinct(s).
4. All DEC members attending the commission session shall be obliged to sign a summary protocol of polling/election results. The protocol shall be endorsed by the DEC seal.
5. If a DEC member disagrees with the data included in a summary protocol, he/she may specify in the protocol with what he/she disagrees, and may attach a written dissenting opinion to the protocol.
6. The DEC secretary shall include the data referred to in this article, upon determination, in the demonstration protocol posted at a visible and accessible place in the DEC.
7. A DEC summary protocol of polling/election results (attached with dissenting opinions of DEC members), as well as DEC decrees about amending PEC summary protocols (if such amendments have been made) shall immediately be submitted to the CEC.
8. A copy of a DEC summary protocol (attached with dissenting opinions of DEC members) shall, upon request, immediately be submitted to representatives of a party/electoral bloc/initiative group of voters and to observers from an observer organisation. The copy of the protocol shall be endorsed by the DEC seal and the signatures of the DEC chairperson and secretary (those protocols shall have the same legal force as DEC summary protocols). The representative/observer shall confirm the receipt of the protocol by signing in the log-book.
9. If a certified copy of a summary protocol that is requested as defined by this Law is not issued, it shall give rise to liability of the commission chairperson and secretary under the legislation of Georgia.
10. Within seven days after polling results are summarised, the DEC secretary shall open the sealed log-books of PECs, make photocopies of the pages of the log-book that contain records provided for in Article 65(22) and 67(51) of this Law (after this procedure the log-book must be sealed again), certify the records with his/her signature and transfer them together with relevant sealed documents (photocopies of ID cards and passports) to the CEC.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 2289 of 17 April 2014 – website, 17.4.2014
Article 76 - Summarisation of election results at the CEC
1. The CEC shall, based on protocols received from DECs and PECs, and not later than the 19th day after polling, summarise at its meetings the results of elections for the Parliament of Georgia, the President of Georgia, the Mayor of Tbilisi and the Sakrebulo of Tbilisi and prepare a summary protocol on those results.
2. The CEC shall summarize election results and draw up a summary protocol of election results specifying the following:
a) the number of voters
b) the number of voters participating in the election
c) the number of ballot papers deemed invalid
d) the number of votes cast for electoral subjects.
3. A summary protocol of election results shall be signed by the CEC Chairperson and the CEC Secretary. One counterpart of the protocol shall be kept with the CEC and the other counterpart shall be given to the authorities defined by this Law. Copies of the protocol shall be given to all persons concerned.
4. The CEC shall ensure the posting of summary protocols of polling results on the CEC website at the same time when summary protocols from electoral precincts are received. The Electoral Administration officers shall be prohibited to make announcements about preliminary results of elections, unless the results are duly published on the CEC website.
5. It is prohibited to summarize election results by the CEC until election disputes pending in the courts of common jurisdiction are resolved, without giving full consideration to the court decisions.
6. In the case of any application/complaint and/or dissenting opinion of any CEC member, the CEC may summarize election results based on PEC summary protocols.
7. Upon summarising the final results of elections, the CEC shall post information about election results on its website by each electoral precinct. The CEC shall, not later than the following day, give this information to the press and other media.
8. The CEC shall make the protocols referred to in Article 71(14) of this Law public, as well as shall ensure the immediate publication thereof on the CEC website. At the same time, if electoral precinct results have been appealed to the court as defined by the legislation of Georgia, the CEC shall be obliged to make proper note thereof in the respective protocol published on the website immediately after the official notification.
9. In any elections, after receiving from DECs the documents defined in Article 75(10) of this Law, the CEC shall process the documents within 40 days after polling day and draw up a separate document for each case: each document shall contain a certified copy of the respective page of the log-book and the attached relevant documents. The materials shall be transferred to the Agency not later than the 45th day after polling day. The agency shall study the materials in order to verify the identity of the persons in question. If the verification reveals that a person participated or attempted to participate in the elections with counterfeit or other person's documents, the person shall be held liable under Article 1642 of the Criminal Code of Georgia.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 2289 of 17 April 2014 – website, 17.4.2014
Chapter IX - Electoral Dispute Resolution
Article 77 - Term and procedure for appeal
1. Violation of the electoral legislation of Georgia may be appealed to the respective election commission. The decision of an election commission may be appealed only to a higher election commission or to the court under the procedure and within the time frames as defined in this Law, unless otherwise provided for hereby.
2. Decisions of PEC/head of PEC may be appealed to the relevant DEC within two days after decisions are made. The DEC shall examine the appeal within two days. The decision of the DEC may be appealed to the relevant district/city court within two days. The district/city court shall examine the appeal within two days. The decision of the district/city court may be appealed to the Court of Appeals within one day after the decision is made. The Court of Appeals shall examine the appeal within one day. The decision of the Court of Appeals shall be final and may not be appealed.
3. If a DEC decision is appealed to the CEC based on the appeal of a PEC decision, an application/complaint shall not be considered.
4. Decisions of DEC/DEC head officers may be appealed to the CEC within one calendar day after decisions are made. The CEC shall examine the appeal within one calendar day. The decision of the CEC may be appealed to the Tbilisi City Court within one calendar day after its delivery. The Tbilisi City Court shall examine the appeal within two calendar days. The decision of the Tbilisi City Court may be appealed to the Court of Appeals within one calendar day after the decision is delivered. The Court of Appeals shall deliver its decision within one calendar day after filing the appeal. The decision of the Court of Appeals shall be final and may not subject to appeal.
5. A decision of the CEC/CEC head officers may be appealed to the Tbilisi City Court within two calendar days after the decision is delivered. The Tbilisi City Court shall examine the appeal within two calendar days. The decision of the Tbilisi City Court may be appealed to the Court of Appeals within two calendar days after the decision is delivered. The Court of Appeals shall deliver its decision within two calendar days after filing the appeal. The decision of the Court of Appeals shall be final and may not subject to appeal.
51. (Deleted – 12.6.2015, No 3695).
6. If a lawsuit/complaint is lodged with the court, the court shall immediately inform a DEC/CEC about receipt of the lawsuit/complaint and about the decision once it is delivered. The decision of the District/City Court shall be given to parties before 12:00 on the following day.
7. If a party fails to appear at the court hearing, the court shall deliver its decision based on an inquiry into case materials and according to the provisions of Articles 4, 17, and 19 of the Administrative Procedures Code of Georgia.
8. An application/lawsuit/complaint shall be considered to be lodged with an election commission/court from the moment it is registered with the respective election commission/court.
9. Lodging of an application/lawsuit/complaint with the election commission/court shall not suspend the validity of the appealed decision.
10. It is prohibited to extend time frames for appeal and dispute resolution as determined in this article, unless otherwise defined by this Law.
11. An application/lawsuit/complaint, as referred to in Article 78 of this Law, submitted to the election commission/court concerning election disputes by the persons other than those specified in the same Article, shall not be considered.
12. The legislation of Georgia shall determine the time frames and procedures for appealing election commission decisions and violations of the electoral legislation of Georgia. The legislation of Georgia shall also define the time frame for examining an application/lawsuit/complaint and delivering a decision, as well as the group of claimants, unless otherwise defined by this Law.
13. The time frames and procedures for appealing violations of electoral legislation during elections held within the competence of the Supreme Election Commission of an Autonomous Republic shall be determined under the procedure defined by the legislation of the Autonomous Republic.
14. Applicants/observer organisations/electoral subjects shall be informed about the time and place of consideration of the complaint by an election commission according to the requirements defined by this Law.
15. If an applicant is an observer organisation or its representative registered with an election commission, the respective observer or the observer organisation registered with the election commission shall be notified of the time and place of consideration of the complaint.
16. If the applicant is an electoral subject or its appointed representative, the appointed representative of the electoral subject, based on Article 42 of this Law, shall be notified of the time and place of the consideration of the complaint.
17. If the applicant is a member of an election commission, he/she shall be personally informed of the consideration of the complaint.
18. Parties shall be required to clearly specify the applicant’s contact number (home and/or cell phone numbers), as well as fax number and email address (if any) in the complaint.
19. Parties may be summoned to the consideration of a complaint either in writing or by telephone (including cell phone, text message), email, fax, or other technical means in order to meet the time frames for examination of complaints as defined by this Law. Summoning a party through technical means shall be confirmed by:
a) contacting the person at the telephone number specified thereby;
b) sending an e-mail, fax, or text message with acknowledgement of receipt through the relevant technical means. If such acknowledgement is received, the party shall be deemed to be summoned. The party shall also be deemed summoned if it is impossible to contact him/her through the technical means referred to in the complaint (if the cell phone, fax, computer is switched off, etc.).
20. When a party is summoned by any technical means, a report shall be drawn up and attached to the complaint submitted at a commission session.
21. The CEC report shall be drawn up and signed by an officer and the head of Legal Department of the CEC.
22. A report in a lower election commission shall be drawn up by one of the commission members by order of the commission chairperson, and shall be signed by that member and the chairperson of the commission.
23. The Electoral Administration of Georgia shall be obliged to inform a party of the time and place of examination of a case not later than three hours before the examination commences.
24. The form of a report shall be approved by the CEC decree.
25. The failure of a party to appear shall not be the grounds for postponing the consideration of a complaint.
26. A party attending the commission session shall be provided with draft documents and copies related to the consideration of the complaint, as well as draft documents and copies that will be presented at the commission session prior to the commencement of the session.
27. A party shall have the right to participate in the process of consideration of a complaint as defined in the electoral legislation of Georgia.
28. A decision whether or not to consider a complaint shall be made based on an accurate inquiry into and study of the evidence submitted by the parties and the materials obtained by the Electoral Administration of Georgia on its own initiative.
29. A party participating in the process of consideration of a complaint, upon request, shall be provided with the decision about the complaint (except for minutes of a commission session) not later than 12:00 of the day following adoption of the decision, taking into account the time frames for drawing up the respective documents as defined in the legislation of Georgia.
30. A written commission decision shall be sent to a party who has failed to appear at the consideration of a complaint, notwithstanding that he/she has been summoned.
31. If a party fails to appear at a commission session during consideration of a complaint, the date of serving a written document of delivered decision upon that party shall not be basis for starting an appeal period for the commission decision.
32. An election commission shall be obliged to specify in its decision the term and place (name and address of an institution) to which the decision may be appealed.
Organic Law of Georgia No 6605 of 29 June 2012 – website, 16.7.2012
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 3695 of 12 June 2015 – website, 15.6.2015
Article 78 - Electoral disputes and group of claimants
1. The Organic Law of Georgia on the Constitutional Court of Georgia and the Law of Georgia on Constitutional Legal Proceedings shall define the standards regulating elections and the time frames and procedures for lodging a constitutional claim with the Constitutional Court of Georgia concerning the constitutionality of elections held or to be held based on the above standards.
2. A representative of any registered (for election purposes) party/electoral block/initiative group of voters to a respective election commission, an organisation with observer status, a member of the respective DEC or PEC, or a citizen whose application for being entered into the list of voters has not been satisfied by the election commission, shall have the right to file a complaint with the court concerning the lists of voters.
3. A representative of any registered (for election purposes) party/electoral block to the CEC, an organisation with observer status, or a member of the CEC shall have the right to file a complaint with the court concerning the establishment of electoral districts within the time frame defined by this Law.
4. A representative of any registered (for election purposes) party/electoral block to a respective DEC, an organisation with observer status, or a member of the respective DEC shall have the right to file a complaint with the court concerning the establishment of electoral districts within the time frame defined by this Law.
5. An individual determined by the legislation of Georgia shall have the right to file a complaint with the court concerning the appointment/election of a member of the CEC/DEC within the time frame defined by this Law.
6. A representative of any registered (for election purposes) party/electoral block/initiative group of voters to a respective DEC, an organisation with observer status, or a member of a respective DEC or PEC shall have the right to file a complaint with the court concerning the appointment/election of a PEC member within the time frame defined by this Law.
7. A registered (for election purposes) party/electoral bloc, an organisation with observer status, or a member of a respective or higher election commission, whose term of office terminates early, shall have the right to file a complaint with the court concerning the decree of an election commission and its chairperson for pre-term termination of the term of office of an election commission member or an election commission head officer, as well as concerning the failure to adopt a decision about pre-term termination of the term of office (if there is the basis referred to in Article 29 of this Law), within the time frame defined by this Law.
8. A member of the CEC, a representative of any registered (for election purposes) party/electoral bloc to the CEC, an organisation with observer status, or more than half of the commission members, whose term of office terminated early under a decree, shall have the right to file a complaint with the court concerning the CEC decree for pre-term termination of the term of office of a lower election commission, as well as concerning the failure to adopt a decision about pre-term termination of the term of office.
9. The CEC shall have the right to file a complaint with the court concerning the failure to deposit funds allocated for elections from the State Budget of Georgia, within the time frame defined by this Law, to the CEC account. The claim shall be lodged within 10 calendar days after the expiration of the above time frame.
10. The following entities shall have the right to file a complaint with the court concerning the electoral registration of a party, electoral bloc, initiative group of voters, and their representatives:
a) a party, an electoral bloc, a representative of an initiative group of voters to the CEC (during elections for the President of Georgia), if the CEC chairperson did not register the party, the electoral bloc, the initiative group of voters or their representatives, or cancelled their registration;
b) a party, an electoral bloc, a representative of an initiative group of voters to the respective DEC (during elections for a local self-government representative body Sakrebulo and the Parliament of Georgia through the majoritarian electoral system), provided the DEC chairperson failed to register the initiative group of voters, or their representatives, or provided the CEC cancelled their registration;
c) a party, an electoral bloc, a representative of an initiative group of voters to the CEC (during elections for the President of Georgia), at least 2 persons with observer status (appointed as observers to the CEC), if they believe that the party, the electoral bloc, or the initiative group of voters have been registered in violation of the requirements of the electoral legislation of Georgia;
d) a party, an electoral bloc, a representative of an initiative group of voters to the respective DEC (during elections for the Parliament of Georgia and for a Sakrebulo held under the majoritarian electoral system), at least 2 persons with observer status (appointed as observers in the respective electoral district), if they believe that the initiative group of voters has been registered in violation of the requirements of the electoral legislation of Georgia.
11. The following entities may file a complaint with the court concerning a decree of an election commission chairperson on the registration of a candidate for President of Georgia, of a party list submitted by a party/an electoral bloc running independently in the elections, of individual candidates entered into the list, of a candidate nominated in a single-seat electoral district, and of a Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidate:
a) a party/an electoral bloc running independently in elections, a majoritarian candidate, a representative of an initiative group of voters to the CEC (during elections for the President of Georgia), a representative of an initiative group of voters to the respective DEC (during elections for the Parliament of Georgia and for a Sakrebulo held under the majoritarian electoral system), if the CEC Chairperson did not register the candidate for President of Georgia, the candidate for Mayor of Tbilisi, the party list presented by the party/the electoral bloc, individual candidates entered into the list, and if the DEC chairperson did not register the candidates nominated by a party/an electoral bloc, or by an initiative group of voters during elections for the Parliament of Georgia, or did not register a party list presented by a party/an electoral bloc, or individual candidates entered into the list, or the candidates nominated by a party/an electoral bloc/an initiative group of voters during Sakrebulo elections, or the Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidates nominated by a party/an electoral bloc during elections for Mayor/Gamgebeli of a self-governing city (other than Tbilisi)/community, and/or if the chairpersons of the above commissions cancelled their registration;
b) a party registered for elections and independently running in the elections, a registered electoral bloc, a representative of a registered initiative group of voters to the CEC (during elections for the President of Georgia), or at least 2 persons with observer status (appointed as observers to the CEC), if they believe that the CEC Chairperson registered a party/electoral bloc list, individual candidates entered into a party/electoral bloc list, a candidate for President of Georgia, or a candidate for Mayor of Tbilisi in violation of the requirements of the electoral legislation of Georgia, and also if individual candidates entered into the party/electoral bloc list fail to meet the requirements referred to in the Constitution of Georgia and other legislative acts of Georgia or those requirements have been fulfilled in violation of the procedure defined by the legislation of Georgia;
c) a party registered for elections and independently running in the elections, a registered electoral bloc, a representative of an initiative group of voters to the respective DEC (during elections for the Parliament of Georgia and for a Sakrebulo held under the majoritarian electoral system), or at least 2 persons with observer status (appointed as observers to the DEC), if they believe that the DEC chairperson registered a party/electoral bloc list, individual candidates nominated under the majoritarian system or entered into the party/electoral bloc list, or Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidates of a self-governing city (other than Tbilisi)/community in violation of the requirements defined in the electoral legislation of Georgia, and also if individual candidates nominated through the majoritarian system or entered into the party/electoral bloc list fail to meet the requirements of the Constitution of Georgia and other legislative acts of Georgia or those requirements have been met in violation of the procedure defined by the legislation of Georgia;
12. The following entities shall have the right to file a complaint with the court concerning the CEC decree for registration of domestic and international observer organisations: the domestic or the international observer organisation if the CEC has not registered the organisation, a party/electoral bloc having gone through electoral registration, a representative of a registered initiative group of voters to the CEC, a registered organisation with observer status, provided the entities admit that the observer organisation was registered in violation of the electoral legislation of Georgia.
13. The following entities shall have the right to file a complaint with the court concerning a DEC decree for registration of a domestic observer organisation: the domestic observer organisation if the CEC failed to register the organisation, a party/electoral bloc having gone through the electoral registration, a representative of a registered initiative group of voters to the DEC, a registered organisation with observer status, provided the entities admit that the observer organisation was registered in violation of the electoral legislation of Georgia.
14. The following entities shall have the right to file a complaint with the court concerning the CEC/DEC secretary decree for accreditation of representatives of the press and other media: the representatives of the press and other media, whose applications for accreditation have not been satisfied by the election commission, a party/electoral bloc having gone through electoral registration, a representative of an initiative group of voters to the respective election commission, or an organisation with observer status.
15. The following entities may file a complaint with the court concerning the actions referred to in Article 47(1) of this Law:
a) a party, an electoral bloc, a representative of an initiative group of voters to the CEC (during elections for the President of Georgia), an organisation with an observer status, an election commission, if the complaint concerns the violation of the above procedure by a party, an electoral bloc, a candidate for President of Georgia or by a candidate for Mayor of Tbilisi;
b) a party, an electoral bloc, a representative of an initiative group of voters to the respective DEC (during elections for a Sakrebulo, and the Parliament of Georgia held under the majoritarian electoral system), a majoritarian candidate, a Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidate, an organisation with observer status, an election commission, if the complaint concerns the violation of the above procedures by the candidate nominated in the electoral district.
16. A person determined by the legislation of Georgia shall have the right to file a complaint concerning the violation of the provisions of Article 46(3) and Article 50(1-4) of this Law by the press and other media.
161. (Deleted – 12.6.2015, No 3695).
17. If the provisions of Articles 48 and 118 of this Law are violated, the following entities may file a complaint with the court concerning a decree of an election commission chairperson: a party, an electoral bloc or an initiative group of voters nominating a candidate, the candidate in relation to whom the decree has been issued, a representative to the CEC of any other party, electoral bloc or initiative group of voters registered for elections (during elections for the President of Georgia), an organisation with observer status, a representative of an initiative group of voters to the DEC (in the case of a majoritarian candidate), unless the commission confirms the above violation.
18. (Deleted - 25.7.2013, No 864).
19. A complaint concerning the issues referred to in the seventeenth paragraph of this article shall be filed with the respective district/city court not later than the day following polling day. The court shall deliver its decision not later than the following day after filing of the complaint. The court decision of the district/city court may be appealed to the Court of Appeals not later than the following day after delivering the decision and the Court of Appeals shall deliver its decision not later than the following day after filing of the complaint.
20. In the case of appealing a PEC summary protocol, the following persons shall have the right to file a complaint with the court concerning the respective decree of higher DEC: a representative of any registered (for election purposes) party, electoral bloc, initiative group of voters to the respective DEC, an organisation with observer status.
21. The following persons may file a complaint with the court concerning a DEC decree on declaring voting results valid or invalid in an electoral precinct: a representative of a party, of an electoral bloc, of an initiative group of voters, a majoritarian candidate, a Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidate of a self-governing city/community, or an observer from an organisation with observer status in the DEC concerned.
22. The following persons may file a complaint with the court concerning a CEC decree on declaring elections valid or invalid: a party independently running in the elections, an electoral bloc, a representative of an initiative group of voters to the CEC (during elections for the President of Georgia), a representative of an initiative group of voters to the DEC (in the case of an electoral district), a majoritarian candidate, a Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidate of a self-governing city/community, or an organisation with observer status.
23. If a DEC summary protocol is appealed, the following entities may file a complaint with the court concerning the CEC decree on the appeal: a party independently running in the elections, an electoral bloc, a representative of an initiative group of voters to the DEC, a majoritarian candidate, a Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidate of a self-governing city/community, or an organisation with observer status.
24. The following entities may file a complaint with the court concerning a CEC summary protocol of election results: a party independently running in the elections, an electoral bloc, a representative of an initiative group of voters to the CEC (during elections for the President of Georgia), a candidate for Mayor of Tbilisi, a majoritarian candidate (during elections for the Parliament of Georgia and the Sakrebulo of Tbilisi), or an organisation with observer status.
Organic Law of Georgia No 6605 of 29 June 2012 – website, 16.7.2012
Organic Law of Georgia No 864 of 25 July 2013 – website, 19.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 3695 of 12 June 2015 – website, 15.6.2015
Chapter X - Penalties for Violation of Electoral Legislation
Article 79 - Participation in election campaigning in violation of law
Participation in election campaigning in violation of the requirements of this Law shall be subject to a penalty in the amount of GEL 2 000.
Article 80 - Hindering dissemination of pre-election appeals and materials
1. Under this Law, hindering dissemination of, or seizure of, election appeals, statements, signboards, papers, photos, and other materials, as well as seizure of or hindering the use of motor vehicles or other means of transportation equipped with special devices designated for election campaigning shall be subject to a penalty in the amount of GEL 1 000.
2. The same action conducted by officials shall be subject to a penalty in the amount of GEL 2 000.
Article 81 - Conduct of election campaigning in institutions where such activities are prohibited
The conduct of election campaigning in institutions where such activities are prohibited by this Law and the issue of a permit for such activities by an authorised person shall be subject to a penalty in the amount of GEL 1 000.
Article 82 - Violation of the procedures for publishing election-related public opinion poll results
The publication of the results of a public opinion poll conducted in relation to elections without the required information within the time frame determined by law or the violation of other procedures related to publication shall be subject to a penalty in the amount of GEL 1 500.
Article 83 - Placement of political/pre-election advertising in violation of law
1. The violation of the requirements under this Law related to election campaigning, placement of political/pre-election advertising and transmission or publication of information shall be subject to penalty imposed on electronic media in the amount of GEL 1 500, and on printed media - in the amount of GEL 500.
2. The same action repeated during one year after the imposition of an administrative penalty shall be subject to penalty imposed on electronic media in the amount of GEL 5 000, and on printed media - in the amount of GEL 1 500.
Article 84 - Liability of electoral subjects for violation of the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Unions of Citizens
1. Electoral subjects, including electoral blocs, political unions within an electoral bloc, initiative groups of voters and candidates nominated by an initiative group shall be liable for violations of the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Unions of Citizens, as well as for actions aimed at avoiding the requirements of law for funding political activities.
2. The liability referred to in the first paragraph of this article shall be imposed by the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Unions of Citizens and under procedures defined by this Law.
Article 85 - Failure to submit a report for election campaign fund
1. Failure to comply with the statutory obligation to submit a report for election campaign fund and/or submitting a report for election campaign fund with inaccurate data shall be subject to a penalty imposed on a political union of citizens in the amount of GEL 1 500.
2. The same action conducted by a political union of citizens receiving state funding shall be subject to a penalty imposed on a political union of citizens in the amount of GEL 3 000.
Article 86 - Refusal to submit materials to the election, referendum, or plebiscite commissions or failure to comply with their decisions
A refusal to submit all required materials to election, referendum, or plebiscite commissions or the failure to comply with their decisions shall be subject to a penalty imposed on the respective officials in the amount of GEL 1 000.
Article 87 - Altering data entered into summary protocols of polling and election results
If any alteration of the data entered into summary protocols of polling and election results is not confirmed by the correction report drawn up by the election commission concerned, the chairperson and/or secretary of the election commission shall each be penalised in the amount of GEL 500.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 88 - Prohibition on the use of administrative resources and the abuse of power or office during canvassing and election campaign
Any violation of the requirements of this Law in the course of using administrative resources or exercising official duties or an official capacity during canvassing and election campaign shall be subject to a penalty in amount of GEL 2 000.
Article 89 - Failure to issue copies of summary protocols of elections, referenda, or plebiscites
Any violation of the requirements of this Law for the issue of copies of summary protocols of elections, referenda, or plebiscites shall be subject to penalty imposed on the respective election commission chairperson and/or secretary in the amount of GEL 1 000.
Article 90 - Hindering a person authorised to be present at a polling station in making notes in the log-book
Hindering a person authorised to be present at a polling station in making notes in the log-book shall be subject to a penalty imposed on the respective persons in the amount of GEL 500.
Article 91 - Restriction of rights for observers, electoral subjects, and media representatives
Any restriction of the rights referred to in this Law for domestic/international observers, electoral subjects, and media representatives, or for hindering their activities shall be subject to a penalty imposed on the respective persons in the amount of GEL 500.
Article 92 - Violation of duties and requirements by observers, electoral subjects, and media representatives
Any violation of the requirements referred to in Article 41(2)(b-d) of this Law by an observer, electoral subject, or media representative shall be subject to a penalty imposed on the respective persons in the amount of GEL 500.
Article 93 - Legal proceedings
1. The CEC, as well as the persons authorised by the CEC and respective DECs (officials), shall draw up protocols of administrative offences referred to in Articles 79, 81 and 86-92 of this Law.
2. The GNCC shall draw up protocols of administrative offences referred to in Articles 82 and 83 of this Law.
3. The State Audit Office shall draw up protocols of administrative offences referred to in Articles 84 and 85 of this Law.
4. The relevant local self-government bodies shall draw up protocols of administrative offences concerning illegal removal, tearing off, covering, or damaging of election posters, in terms of the administrative offences referred to in Article 80 of this Law.
5. In the case of administrative offences provided for by this Chapter, legal proceedings shall be conducted according to the Code of Administrative Offences of Georgia, unless otherwise defined by this Law.
Organic Law of Georgia No 6551 of 22 June 2012 – website, 29.6.2012
SECTION II. SPECIAL PART
Chapter XI - Elections for the President of Georgia
Article 94 - Elections for the President of Georgia
The President of Georgia shall be elected on the basis of universal, equal, and direct suffrage, by secret ballot, for a term of five years. The same person may be elected as the President of Georgia for only two consecutive terms.
Article 95 - Conduct of regular elections for the President of Georgia
1. Regular elections for the President of Georgia shall be conducted in October of the calendar year in which the President’s term expires. The President of Georgia shall, by the Prime Minister’s countersignature, fix the date of elections not later than 60 days before the election.
2. No election shall be conducted during a state of emergency or martial law.
3. The information on the calling of elections for President of Georgia shall be published on the official CEC website and through the media not later than the day after the elections are called.
Organic Law of Georgia No 1019 of 6 September 2013 – website, 23.9.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 96 - Passive suffrage
Any citizen of Georgia having the right to vote, who has attained the age of 35, who lived in Georgia for at least five years, and who has lived in Georgia for the last three years before the day when the election is scheduled, may be elected President of Georgia.
Article 97 - Right to nominate a candidate for President of Georgia
1. A political union of citizens (a party) or an initiative group of 5 voters shall have the right to nominate a candidate for President of Georgia.
2. The nomination of a candidate for President of Georgia shall be approved by signatures of not less than 25 000 voters (0,75% of the total number of voters).
Article 98 - Procedures for nominating a candidate for President of Georgia
1. A party registered with the CEC and an initiative group of voters shall have the right to nominate one candidate for President of Georgia.
2. In order to nominate a candidate for President of Georgia, a party and an initiative group of voters shall file an application to the CEC Chairperson not later than the 50th day before the polling day. After the filing of an application, the party and the initiative group of voters shall have the right to collect signatures of supporting voters.
3. The following information about a candidate for President of Georgia shall be specified in the application:
a) first name and last name
b) date of birth
c) occupation
d) position (activity)
e) place of work
f) place of registration
g) party membership
h) period of residence in Georgia
i) name of the nominating party, first and last names, numbers of identity cards of a citizen of Georgia (passports of a citizen of Georgia), place of registration, contact telephone numbers and other information (if any) of the members of the initiative group of voters and their representative.
4. A written consent to run in elections, a copy of birth certificate and three photos of the person nominated as a candidate for President of Georgia shall be attached to the application.
5. A party leader or all members of an initiative group of voters shall sign the application.
Article 99 - Lists of supporters of a candidate for President of Georgia
1. In order to register a candidate for President of Georgia, a representative of a party or an initiative group of voters shall submit a list of supporting voters of the candidate to the CEC not later than 40 days before polling day.
2. The list of supporting voters of the candidate for President of Georgia shall include the signatures of not less than 25 000 voters (0,75% of the total number of voters).
Article 991 - Incompatibility of the status of a candidate for President of Georgia with his/her official capacity
1. The following officials shall resign from their positions not later than the second day after filing with the CEC an application for registration as a candidate for President of Georgia:
a) the Prime Minister of Georgia, as well as the Ministers of Georgia and the Autonomous Republics and their deputies, the heads of government and state departmental agencies and their deputies;
b) members of the National Security Council;
c) members of the Council of the National Bank of Georgia and the Council of the Financial Supervision Agency of Georgia;
d) the Auditor General and his/her deputies;
e) state trustees - governors and their deputies;
f) chairpersons of Sakrebulos, heads of district municipalities, mayors of cities;
g) officers of the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Defence of Georgia, the State Security Service of Georgia, the Georgian Intelligence Service, and the Special State Protection Service of Georgia
h) judges;
i) the Public Defender and his/her deputy;
j) advisors of the President of Georgia;
k) members of the High Council of Justice of Georgia;
l) the head of the Civil Service Bureau and his/her deputies;
m) prosecutors, their deputies and assistants, investigators;
n) members of the GNCC and the GNEWSRC.
2. A respective legal act about resignation/dismissal of an official referred to in the first paragraph of this article shall immediately be submitted to the CEC. Otherwise, the person shall be refused registration as a candidate for President of Georgia, and if registration has been completed, it shall be canceled.
Organic Law of Georgia No 878 of 27 July 2013 - website, 7.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 3973 of 8 July 2015 – website, 15.7.2015
Organic Law of Georgia No 4192 of 3 September 2015 – website, 10.9.2015
Article 100 - Registration of a candidate for President of Georgia
1. The CEC Chairperson shall register a candidate for President of Georgia by decree not later than the 30th day before Election Day.
2. The CEC Chairperson shall provide a candidate for President of Georgia with the respective certificate within three days after the registration.
3. The CEC Chairperson shall not register a candidate for President of Georgia if:
a) the data provided for by Article 98(3-5) of this Law are incomplete or inaccurate;
b) the list of supporting voters contains less than 25 000 signatures of voters (0,75% of total number of voters);
c) the time frame referred to by the first paragraph of Article 99 of this Law is not met.
4. The CEC shall announce on its official website the registration of a candidate for President of Georgia not later than the sixth day after the registration of a candidate for President of Georgia, specifying the first name, last name, date of birth, position (occupation), place of residence, and place of employment of the candidate.
5. A candidate for President of Georgia may withdraw his/her candidacy at any time not later than 10 days before polling day by filing a written application to the CEC.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 101 - Cancellation of electoral registration of political parties and initiative groups of voters
1. The CEC shall by decree cancel the registration of a party where:
a) the party applies for cancellation;
b) the Constitutional Court of Georgia prohibits operation of the party;
c) the party fails to present or to register a candidate for President of Georgia or the electoral registration of the candidate for President of Georgia nominated by the party is cancelled.
2. The CEC shall by decree cancel electoral registration of an initiative group of voters where:
a) the initiative group of voters applies for cancellation;
b) a candidate for President of Georgia nominated by the initiative group of voters is not registered or the electoral registration of a candidate for President of Georgia nominated by the initiative group of voters is cancelled.
3. A decision provided for by this article shall be deemed adopted if it is supported by at least two-thirds of the total members of the CEC.
Organic Law of Georgia No 901 of 29 July 2013 - website, 20.8.2013
Article 102 - Determination of sequence numbers for candidates for President of Georgia
1. A sequence number shall be determined for a candidate for President of Georgia 25 days before elections as provided for by this article. In order to determine a sequence number, respective procedures shall be conducted in the CEC premises in the presence of persons authorised to be present at CEC sessions.
2. A candidate nominated by a political union that received the most votes during the previous parliamentary elections held under the proportional system shall be the first to choose a sequence number. A representative of a political union shall file an application to the CEC, whereby a candidate nominated by the political union shall choose the number assigned to the political union that nominated him/her during the previous parliamentary elections or shall take number ‘one’. The candidates whose nominating parties took second and third places according to the results of the previous parliamentary elections shall have the right to successively choose a sequence number under the same procedure. The nominating parties shall have the right to maintain the number assigned to them during the previous parliamentary elections or to choose numbers ‘two’ or ‘three’ accordingly, except when the number assigned to them during the previous parliamentary elections has been assigned to a candidate nominated by the political union that placed higher in the previous parliamentary elections.
3. If a sequence number was assigned to an electoral bloc during the previous parliamentary elections, a candidate nominated by the party that is the first in the electoral bloc list shall have the right to use the same number.
4. Except for the cases referred to in the second and third paragraphs of this article, a sequence number shall be defined for a presidential candidate by casting lots.
5. In order to cast lots, the CEC Chairperson shall write numbers corresponding to the number of presidential candidates on sheets of paper of the same type, size and shape with the same pen. Each sheet of paper shall be certified by the CEC seal. Thereafter, the numbers chosen according to the second paragraph of this article shall be set aside. All remaining sheets of paper shall be folded so as to make it impossible to read the numbers written thereon. The CEC Chairperson shall put these sheets of paper in a transparent box and one representative of each presidential candidate shall take one sheet of paper out of the box. The number identified by casting lots shall be assigned to a presidential candidate.
6. If the electoral registration of a presidential candidate is cancelled, the remaining candidates shall maintain their assigned sequence numbers.
7. The CEC shall publish the list of registered presidential candidates on its official website not later than 24 days prior to the polling day.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 103 - Guarantees for the activities of presidential candidates of Georgia and their representatives
1. Candidates for President of Georgia shall participate on an equal basis in election campaign from the moment of registration with the CEC. Candidates for President of Georgia shall enjoy equal rights to use the press and other media throughout the territory of Georgia as defined in this Law.
2. Candidates for President of Georgia and their representatives may not be dismissed from office or transferred to another job or position during election campaign without their consent.
3. Candidates for President of Georgia shall not be detained, arrested, or searched until final results of elections are officially announced, unless the CEC gives its consent to an application of the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia. An exception shall be the case in which a candidate is caught in the act of committing a crime, which shall immediately be reported to the CEC. If the CEC issues the relevant decree the detained or arrested candidate for President of Georgia shall immediately be released.
4. The CEC decree about giving its consent referred to in this article shall be voted upon within three calendar days after receiving an application from the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia.
Organic Law of Georgia No 668 of 30 May 2013 - website, 24.6.2013
Article 104 - Summarisation of election results
1. The candidate for President of Georgia who receives more than one half of the votes cast during an election shall be deemed elected. The number of votes cast by invalid ballots may not be included in the number of votes cast by voters participating in elections.
2. If none of candidates obtain the necessary amount of votes in the first round of elections, the second round of elections shall be called.
3. The CEC shall, not later than the 20th day after polling, summarize election results at its session according to electoral districts and draw up a relevant summary protocol to be approved by CEC decree.
4. The CEC shall summarize election results according to DEC summary protocols, while in the case of a complaint/application or any dissenting opinion of a commission member, the results of separate districts shall be summarised on the basis of PEC summary protocols.
5. PECs, and then DECs, shall be required to transfer sealed packages of the lists of voters to the CEC along with summary protocols of polling and election results.
6. The CEC shall publish the results of the elections on its official website within two days after summarising the results of the elections.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 105 - Second round of elections
1. If no candidate gets the necessary amount of votes in the first round of elections, the second round of elections shall be called.
2. The second round of elections shall be called by a decree of the CEC. The second round of elections shall be held two weeks after the official announcement of the first round election results.
3. The two candidates with the best results in the first round of elections shall be authorised to run in the second round. If the candidates in second place receive an equal number of votes during the first round, the candidate who is permitted to run in the second round shall be decided by casting lots.
4. The candidate who receives the most votes in the second round of elections shall be deemed elected.
5. If candidates receive an equal number of votes in the second round, the candidate who received more votes in the first round of elections shall be considered elected.
Article 106 - Re-run elections
1. Re-run elections shall be held if all participating candidates withdraw their candidacies in the first or the second round of elections.
2. Re-run elections shall be held within two months after the summarisation of the results of general elections.
3. The Parliament of Georgia shall call re-run elections.
4. The information about calling re-run elections shall be published in the press and other media.
5. Re-run elections shall be held under the procedure defined in this Law for general elections and within the time frame determined by the CEC, but not later than two months after the summarisation of the results of general elections.
Article 107 - Extraordinary elections for President of Georgia
1. If the tenure of the President of Georgia is terminated prior to expiration of his/her term, an extraordinary election shall be held not later than the 45th day after the termination of the tenure of the President of Georgia.
2. If pre-term termination of the tenure of the President of Georgia coincides with Parliamentary holidays or a non-session week, the Parliament of Georgia shall be convened not later than 48 hours after termination of the tenure of the President of Georgia.
3. The Parliament of Georgia shall call an extraordinary election for the President of Georgia not later than 72 hours after termination of the tenure of the President of Georgia.
4. The Parliament of Georgia shall ensure the conduct of extraordinary election for the President of Georgia through the CEC.
5. In order to nominate a candidate for President of Georgia, a party or an initiative group of voters shall file an application to the CEC not later than the 40th day before the extraordinary election.
6. In order to register a candidate for President of Georgia, a representative of a party, or of an initiative group of voters shall submit a list of not less than 25 000 supporting voters (0,75% of the total number of voters) to the CEC not later than the 30th day before the extraordinary election.
7. The CEC shall register candidates for President of Georgia not later than the 25th day prior to the extraordinary election.
8. In the case of an extraordinary election for President of Georgia, the extraordinary election shall be held within 45 days after the pre-term termination of the tenure of the President of Georgia as defined in this Law for general elections.
Chapter XII - Elections for the Parliament of Georgia
Article 108 - Calling of parliamentary elections of Georgia
1. Regular elections for Parliament of Georgia shall be held in October of the calendar year in which the term of office of the Parliament expires.
2. The President of Georgia shall announce an election date, by the Prime Minister’s countersignature, not later than 60 days prior to the election.
3. If the time frame for an election coincides with a state of emergency or martial law, the election shall be held not later than 60 days after lifting the state of emergency or martial law.
4. The information on the calling of Parliamentary elections of Georgia shall be published on the official CEC website and through the media not later than the day following the day of calling the elections.
Organic Law of Georgia No 1019 of 6 September 2013 – website, 23.9.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 109 - Procedure for election and terms of powers of the Parliament of Georgia
1. The Parliament of Georgia shall have 77 members elected through the proportional electoral system and 73 members elected through the majoritarian electoral system.
2. The term of the elected Parliament of Georgia shall be four years.
Article 110 - Majoritarian electoral districts during elections for the Parliament of Georgia
1. For the purposes of parliamentary elections of Georgia, 73 single-seat majoritarian electoral districts, including 10 majoritarian electoral districts in Tbilisi , shall be established. [(Invalid) – Judgment No 1/3/547 of 28 May 2015 of the Constitutional Court of Georgia – website, 8.6.2015]
2. For the parliamentary elections of Georgia, the CEC shall set up single-seat majoritarian electoral districts and determine their borders by a decree not later than 1 July of the year of the regular Parliamentary elections of Georgia.
3. For the purposes of parliamentary elections, majoritarian districts may not be established within the occupied territories of Georgia.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Judgment No 1/3/547 of 28 May 2015 of the Constitutional Court of Georgia – website, 8.6.2015
Article 111 - Passive suffrage
1. Any citizen of Georgia having the right to vote, who has attained the age of 21 and speaks Georgian, may be elected as an MP of Georgia.
2. A citizen who has not resided in Georgia for the last two years and who is not on a consular registry of Georgia in any other country, may not be elected as an MP of Georgia.
3. A citizen who is a drug addict or a drug user may not be elected as an MP of Georgia. If the respective election commission declares such a person elected, the Parliament of Georgia may not recognize his/her authority.
4. A party, electoral bloc, and majoritarian candidate registered with the respective election commission shall have the right to run in elections for the Parliament of Georgia.
Organic Law of Georgia No 6571 of 28 June 2012 – website, 28.6.2012
Article 112 - Incompatibility of the status of a candidate for MP of Georgia with his/her official capacity
1. The following officials shall resign and shall be dismissed from their positions not later than the second day after filing an application to the CEC for registration as a candidate for MP of Georgia:
a) the President of Georgia;
b) ministers of Georgia, as well as ministers of the Autonomous Republics, heads of government and state departmental agencies and their deputies;
c) members of the Security Council of Georgia (except for MPs);
d) members of the Council of the National Bank of Georgia and the Council of the Financial Supervision Agency of Georgia;
e) the Auditor General and his/her deputies;
f) state trustees - governors and their deputies;
g) chairpersons of Sakrebulos, heads of district municipalities (Gamgebeli), mayors of cities;
h) officers of the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Defence of Georgia, the State Security Service of Georgia, the Georgian Intelligence Service, and the Special State Protection Service of Georgia;
i) judges;
j) the Public Defender of Georgia and his/her deputy;
k) advisors to the President of Georgia;
l) members of the High Council of Justice of Georgia (who are not MPs of Georgia);
m) the head of the Public Service Bureau and his/her deputies;
n) prosecutors, their deputies, assistants, and investigators;
o) members of the GNCC and the GNEWSRC.
2. A respective legal act about resignation and dismissal of an official referred to in the first paragraph of this article shall be immediately submitted to the respective election commission. Otherwise, the person shall be refused to be registered as a candidate for MP of Georgia, and if registration has been completed, it shall be cancelled.
Organic Law of Georgia No 6551 of 22 June 2012 – website, 29.6.2012
Organic Law of Georgia No 3973 of 8 July 2015 – website, 15.7.2015
Organic Law of Georgia No 4192 of 3 September 2015 – website, 10.9.2015
Chapter XIII - Registration of Electoral subjects Running in Elections for the Parliament of Georgia
Article 113 - Registration of parties/cancellation of registration
1. To obtain the right to run in the Parliamentary elections of Georgia, a party shall file an application, signed by its leader(s), to the CEC chairperson:
a) after the parliamentary elections are called, but not later than the 57th day before Election Day if the party has a representative in the Parliament of Georgia on the day the elections are called. An MP shall be deemed a party representative if he/she is elected after being nominated by the respective party or electoral bloc (in which the party was united);
b) from 1 January to 1 August of the year of the parliamentary elections if the party does not meet the conditions under subparagraph (a) of this paragraph.
2. An application for registration shall be accompanied with a registration certificate and statutes of the party or notarized copies thereof and a document evidencing that the party has a representative in the Parliament of Georgia (if any);
3. An application for registration shall include the following information about a party:
a) the name of the party in full and in short, if any, and/or the abbreviated name under which the party runs in elections;
b) the first and last name, address (according to the place of registration), telephone number and specimen of signature of a leader(s) of the party;
c) the first and last name, address (according to the place of registration), telephone number, and scope of powers of a representative of the party;
d) if there are several leaders, the scope of powers of each leader in relation to the party’s electoral process.
4. The name, in full or in short, and/or the abbreviated name of a party referred to in paragraph 3(a) of this article shall not coincide with:
a) the official name, in full or in short, and/or the abbreviated name of another party already registered by the Ministry for Justice of Georgia (in the case of coincidence, the party may not use the name);
b) the name, in full or in short, and/or the abbreviated name of an electoral bloc running in elections if the bloc filed the application to the CEC earlier (in the case of coincidence, the party may not use the name);
c) the name, in full or in short, and/or the abbreviated name used by another party/electoral bloc during the previous parliamentary elections, unless the consent thereto of the party/electoral bloc is obtained.
5. In the case provided for by paragraph 1(b) of this article, the respective CEC office shall provide a party representative with a sample of the list of supporting voters. The respective CEC office shall check the application and documents attached thereto and shall submit its report to the CEC Chairperson not later than the day after the filing of the application.
6. In the case provided for by paragraph 1(a) of this article, the CEC Chairperson shall, not later than the day after filing of the report referred to in the fifth paragraph of this article:
a) register the party and its representative for election purposes if the application filed and the documents attached meet the requirements of this Law;
b) submit a written notification to a representative of the party about any non-compliance of the filed application and the attached documents with the provisions of this Law (specifying the details of non-compliance) and give the party three days after receipt of notice for correction of the application and documents.
7. A corrected application and documents referred to in paragraph 6(b) of this article shall be verified and the decision about electoral registration shall be made within two days after submission of the application and documents. If the corrected application and documents meet the requirements of this Law, the CEC Chairperson shall register the party and its representative for election purposes. Otherwise, the CEC Chairperson shall, within the same time frame, issue a decree refusing to provide electoral registration (the decree shall specify the reasons for the refusal to provide electoral registration and the applicable provisions of Law that are the basis for refusal). A representative of the party shall immediately be notified about the decree and shall be provided with a copy of the decree upon request.
8. In the case provided for by paragraph 1(b) of this article, the CEC Chairperson shall, not later than the third day after the provision of the report referred to in the fifth paragraph of this article, notify the party representative in writing about any non-compliance of the application and attached documents with the provisions of this Law (specifying the details of non-compliance). The corrected application and documents shall be returned to the CEC within three days.
9. A party failing to meet the conditions under paragraph (1)(a) of this article shall, within 60 days of receiving a sample form of the list of supporting voters, but not later than 15 August, submit to the CEC a list of at least 1 000 voters, if the party is a qualified electoral subject, and if it is not a qualified electoral subject, a list of at least 25 000 (the number may not exceed 1% of the total number of voters) voters supporting the party’s participation in the Parliamentary elections of Georgia. A relevant CEC office shall verify the list of supporting voters under the procedure and within the time frame defined in Article 38 of this Law. During the election period, a relevant CEC office shall verify the lists of supporting voters and present the report to the CEC Chairperson within two days after the lists are submitted.
10. If an application, attached documents (or a corrected application and documents), and the list of supporting voters under this article are submitted within the time frame defined in this Law and meet the requirements thereof, the CEC Chairperson shall, based on a report of the respective CEC office, register the party and its representative for election purposes within ten days after receipt of the report, but not later than the 59th day before Election Day. Otherwise, the CEC Chairperson shall issue a decree within the same time frame about the refusal to provide electoral registration (the decree shall specify the reasons for the refusal to provide electoral registration and the applicable provisions of this Law that are the basis for refusal). A representative of the party shall immediately be notified about the decree and shall be provided with a copy of the decree upon request.
11. The CEC shall publish the list of registered parties on its official website in the order of submitting applications, not later than the 30th day before Election Day. It shall also publish the list of the parties that have been denied registration or the registration of which has been cancelled, specifying the reasons for the denial or cancellation.
12. The CEC Chairperson shall by decree cancel the registration of a party where:
a) the party applies for cancellation;
b) the Constitutional Court of Georgia prohibits operation of the party;
c) the electoral registration of the electoral bloc, to which the party is a member, is cancelled according to paragraph 14(c) or (d) of Article 114 of this Law;
d) the party leaves or is expelled from the electoral bloc before the summarisation of parliamentary election results after the expiration of the deadline for the submission of party lists by the bloc;
e) the party fails to submit a party list or the submitted party list has not been registered;
f) the number of candidates in the party list, not later than the 2nd day before Election Day, is less than the minimum number defined in this Law.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 114 - Registration of electoral blocs/cancellation of registration
1. Parties registered by the CEC Chairperson shall have the right to establish an electoral bloc and to leave an electoral bloc. In order to register an electoral bloc, an application signed by authorised leaders of all parties united in the bloc and a copy of the statutes of the bloc shall be submitted to the CEC not later than the 43rd day before the day of a regular election.
2. An application shall include the following information about an electoral bloc:
a) name, in full or in short, and/or abbreviated name (if any) under which the bloc runs in the election, and the list of parties united in the bloc
b) first and last name, and address (according to the place of registration) of a leader(s)
c) first and last name, address (according to the place of registration), telephone number, and scope of powers of a representative
d) if there are several leaders, the scope of powers of each leader with relation to the electoral process.
3. The name, in full or in short, and/or the abbreviated name of an electoral bloc referred to in paragraph 2(a) of this article may not coincide with:
a) official name, in full or in short, and/or the abbreviated name of another party already registered by the Ministry for Justice of Georgia (in the case of coincidence, the bloc may not use the name);
b) name, in full or in short, and/or the abbreviated name of another electoral bloc running in elections if the bloc filed the application to the CEC earlier (in the case of coincidence, the bloc may not use the name);
c) name, in full or in short, and/or the abbreviated name used by another electoral bloc during the previous parliamentary elections, unless the consent thereto of the previously registered bloc is obtained.
4. The statutes of an electoral bloc, signed by the leaders of all parties united in the bloc, shall include:
a) name, in full or in short, and/or the abbreviated name (if any) of the electoral bloc under which the bloc runs in the election
b) list of the parties united in the electoral bloc
c) governing body (if any) of the electoral bloc, leaders and their powers
d) procedure for decision-making within the electoral bloc, including the procedures for acceptance, withdrawal or exclusion of a party from the bloc, nomination of candidates for a representative body by the bloc, and cancellation of such nomination
e) person(s) authorised to sign electoral bloc documents on behalf of the electoral bloc
f) procedure for using the seal of one of the electoral bloc member parties during election activities
g) procedure for appointment of the persons in charge of election campaign expense, the manager, and the accountant
h) procedure for making amendments to the electoral bloc statutes.
5. A party member of one electoral bloc may not be a member of another electoral bloc, or may not run independently in the same election.
6. The CEC Chairperson shall, upon the acceptance of an application and statutes as referred to in the first paragraph of this article, give to the representative of an electoral bloc a document evidencing the submission of the above application and statutes.
7. The respective CEC office shall verify an application and statutes submitted as referred to in the first paragraph of this article and shall submit its report to the CEC Chairperson not later than the day after the filing of an application. The CEC Chairperson shall, not later than the day after the receipt of the report, provide electoral registration of an electoral bloc and its representative if the submitted documents meet the requirements defined in paragraphs 1-5 of this article. If the submitted documents do not meet the above requirements, the CEC Chairperson shall notify the electoral bloc representative, in writing, about non-compliance of the documents with the provisions of this Law (specifying the details of non-compliance). Corrected documents shall be re-submitted to the CEC not later than the second day after notification. The CEC Chairperson shall make a final decision on registration within two days after acceptance of the corrected documents. If the corrected documents meet the requirements of this Law, the CEC Chairperson shall register the electoral bloc and its representative. Otherwise, the CEC Chairperson shall issue a decree refusing registration (the decree shall specify the reasons for the refusal to provide electoral registration and the applicable provisions of this Law that are the basis for refusal). A representative of the electoral bloc shall immediately be notified about the decree and a copy of the decree shall be provided to the representative upon request. The registration procedure referred to in this paragraph shall end on the 37th day before Election Day.
8. A party having gone through electoral registration may join a registered electoral bloc prior to the expiration of the term for registration of electoral blocs. For these purposes, the party shall, with consent of the bloc, file an application with the CEC Chairperson.
9. The CEC Chairperson by a decree shall, upon registration of an electoral bloc, cease the powers of representatives of the parties united in the bloc to all election commissions. The electoral bloc may appoint 2 representatives to each election commission.
10. If a party (parties) withdraws or is expelled from an electoral bloc before the expiration of the deadline for nomination of party lists/candidates, each of them may continue running in elections. If only one party remains in an electoral bloc for the above reason, the CEC shall by decree cancel the electoral registration of the electoral bloc, and the parties previously united in the bloc may continue running in elections.
11. If a party withdraws or is expelled from an electoral bloc after the expiration of the deadline for nomination of party lists/candidates, the CEC Chairperson shall by decree cancel the electoral registration of the party. If only one party remains in the bloc for the above reason, the CEC shall by decree cancel electoral registration of the electoral bloc and the party remaining shall be the legal successor of the bloc.
12. The CEC shall publish the list of registered electoral blocs on its official website in the order of submitting applications, not later than the 30th day before Election Day, as well as the list of the electoral blocs that have been denied registration or the registration of which has been cancelled, specifying the reasons for the denial or cancellation.
13. A party/electoral bloc registered according to this Law may, on the basis of its application, take part in elections at all levels to be held until the following parliamentary elections. A party united in an electoral bloc shall have the right to run, either independently or as a part of another electoral bloc, in elections at all levels to be held until the following parliamentary elections.
14. The CEC Chairperson shall by decree cancel the registration of an electoral bloc provided that:
a) the bloc applies for cancellation;
b) the electoral bloc dissolves or only one party remains in the bloc due to abandoning the bloc by a member party (parties), or because of its (their) expulsion, or cancellation of electoral registration;
e) the electoral bloc fails to submit a party list or the submitted party list is not registered;
f) the number of candidates in the bloc party list, not later than the second day before Election Day, is less than the minimum number defined in this Law.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 115 - Submission of party lists
1. Parties running in elections independently and electoral blocs may submit party lists.
2. Each party running in elections independently and electoral bloc may submit one party list.
3. The number of candidates for MP of Georgia in a submitted party list may not be less than 100 and more than 200.
4. A candidate nominated in a majoritarian electoral district may also be on the party list. In such a case, the party list shall specify that the candidate is nominated in a majoritarian electoral district.
5. One and the same person may not be on different party lists.
6. Parties and electoral blocs shall lay down the procedure for drawing up party lists. When drawing up party lists, consideration shall be given to maintaining balance between the sexes with respect to additional funding as defined by the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Unions of Citizens.
7. After the electoral registration, a party/electoral bloc shall, not later than the 30th day before Election Day, submit a party list to the CEC Chairperson Attached to the party list shall be a registration card filled out and signed by each candidate for MP of Georgia and with photos of the candidates.
8. If a candidate is simultaneously nominated for a majoritarian electoral district, a certificate of drug test shall be submitted together with the registration card and photo. Those documents shall be submitted in 2 copies, one copy of which shall be given to the respective election commission within two days after receipt.
9. A party list shall specify the following information for each candidate:
a) first and last name
b date of birth (day/month/year)
c) address (according to the place of registration)
d) personal number of a citizen of Georgia
e) place of work (name of institution, organisation, enterprise, etc.)
f) position (if unemployed, specify ‘unemployed’)
g) party membership (if not a party member, specify ‘non-partisan’)
h) in the case of nomination for a majoritarian electoral district, the name and number of the district.
10. A registration form shall specify the following information for each candidate:
a) first and last name
b) date of birth (day/month/year)
c) sex
d) address (according to the place of registration)
e) personal number of a citizen of Georgia
f) place of work (name of institution, organisation, enterprise, etc.)
g) position (if unemployed, specify ‘unemployed’)
h) party membership (if not a party member, specify ‘non-partisan’)
i) the fact of residence in Georgia for at least last two years before calling elections, or the fact of being on a consular registry of Georgia
j) in the case of nomination for a majoritarian electoral district, the name and number of the district
k) consent to run in elections under the given party list and/or to run in that majoritarian district
l) the fact that a candidate was an MP of Georgia after the previous election
m) signature and date of signature.
11. The CEC shall issue registration cards provided for by the seventh and eighth paragraphs of this article to the representative of a party/electoral bloc in advance.
Article 116 - Nomination of candidates in majoritarian electoral districts
1. The following entities shall have the right to nominate a candidate for MP of Georgia in a majoritarian electoral district:
a) a party running in elections independently
b) an electoral bloc
c) an initiative group of 5 voters.
2. Any party running in elections independently/electoral bloc may nominate one candidate to be elected through the majoritarian system in every electoral district. An initiative group of voters may nominate one candidate in the respective majoritarian electoral district.
3. In order to nominate a candidate for MP of Georgia, an initiative group of voters shall file an application to the respective DEC not later than the 57th day before polling, after which day the initiative group of voters may start collecting signatures of supporting voters.
4. The application shall specify the following information about a candidate for MP of Georgia:
a) first and last name
b) date of birth (day/month/year)
c) occupation
d) position (activity)
e) place of work
f) place of registration
g) party membership
h) duration of residence in Georgia
i) first and last name, number of identity card of a citizen of Georgia (passport number of a citizen of Georgia), place of registration, contact telephone number, and other information (if any) of members of the nominating initiative group of voters, and their representative.
5. The application signed by all members of the initiative group of voters shall be accompanied by written consent of any nominated candidate for MP of Georgia to run in elections, a copy of his/her identity card and two photos.
6. The DEC chairperson shall, not later than the day after filing an application, register an initiative group of voters. Unless the requirements determined by paragraphs 1-5 of this article are met, the DEC chairperson shall immediately notify the applicant about any error. Corrected documents shall be re-submitted to the DEC chairperson for registration not later than the following day.
7. In order to register a candidate for MP of Georgia, a representative of the initiative group of voters shall, not later than the 50th day before polling, submit a list of supporters of the candidate to the relevant DEC.
8. A party running independently in the election /electoral bloc/initiative group of voters shall nominate their majoritarian candidates to the electoral district as defined in Article 115(7-11) of this Law.
9. Nomination of a candidate by an initiative group of voters shall be endorsed by signatures of not less than one percent of supporting voters registered in the territory of the respective electoral district, except when the nominated candidate was elected as an MP of Georgia during the previous parliamentary elections.
10. The respective DEC chairperson shall, by decree, not later than the 30th day before Election Day, register a candidate for MP of Georgia.
11. The DEC chairperson shall, within three days after the registration, issue a respective certificate to the candidate for MP of Georgia.
12. The DEC chairperson shall not register a candidate for MP of Georgia if:
a) the data referred to in the eighth paragraph of this article is not complete or accurate;
b) the number signatures in the list of supporting voters is less than required;
c) the requirements and the time frames defined in the seventh paragraph of this article are not met.
Judgment No 1/1/539 of the Constitutional Court of Georgia of 11 April 2013 - website, 19.4.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 864 of 25 July 2013 - website, 19.8.2013
Article 117 - Verification and electoral registration of party lists and documents of candidates for MPs nominated in majoritarian electoral districts
1. The CEC Chairperson shall by decree register a party list, while the respective DEC chairperson shall by decree register a majoritarian candidate nominated in an electoral district, provided that all documents under this Law comply with the requirements defined herein. Respective commissions may not consider the issue of electoral registration where the time frames for the submission of documents referred to in this Law are not met.
2. A designated office of the CEC shall verify the party list presented by a party/electoral bloc and shall submit its report to the CEC Chairperson within 10 days after submission of the list, but not later than the 26th day before Election Day. The CEC Chairperson shall, within three days, but not later than the 25th day before Election Day:
a) register the party list and the candidates nominated by a party/electoral bloc only if the submitted party list and the documents attached thereto comply with the requirements defined by this Law;
b) give written notice to the representative of the party/electoral bloc of any discrepancy between the requirements defined by this Law and the data in the party list and documents attached thereto (specifying the details of the discrepancy), and the representative shall have three days to correct the discrepancy in the party list or other documents;
3. The corrected data referred to in paragraph 2(b) of this article shall be verified and the issue of electoral registration shall be resolved within five days after submission of corrected data, but not later than the 20th day before Election Day. If the corrected data complies with the requirements of this Law, the CEC Chairperson shall register the party list or the part of the list that complies with the requirements defined by this Law (if the number of candidates in that part is not less than the required minimum). The CEC Chairperson shall, within the same time frame, issue a decree regarding the refusal of electoral registration for other candidates (the decree shall specify the reasons for the refusal to provide electoral registration and the applicable provisions of this Law that are the basis for refusal). If the number of other candidates in the party list that comply with the requirements of this Law remains less than the required minimum, neither the party list nor the candidates nominated by the party/electoral bloc shall be registered and the CEC Chairperson shall, within the time frame referred to above, issue a decree regarding the refusal of registration (the decree shall specify the reasons for the refusal to provide electoral registration and the applicable provisions of this Law that are the basis for refusal). A representative of the party shall immediately be notified about the decree and shall be provided with a copy upon request.
4. The respective DEC chairperson shall register/refuse to register a majoritarian candidate nominated by a party/electoral bloc in an electoral district under the procedure and within the time frame referred to in the second and third paragraphs of this article. A party/electoral bloc shall be obliged to submit registration documents of a majoritarian candidate to the CEC within the time frame defined in this Law.
5. The electoral registration shall be denied to a candidate for MP of Georgia, and either a decree of the respective election commission chairperson (in the cases referred to in subparagraphs (a-e) and (g) of this paragraph) or a court decision (in the case referred to in subparagraph (f) of this paragraph) shall cancel the electoral registration of any registered candidate, provided that the applications and documents submitted to the election commission fail to comply with all the requirements defined by this Law or other provisions defined in the same Law are not met, namely, if:
a) the data referred to in applications and documents is incomplete or inaccurate;
b) the candidate entered in the party list is a member of another party running in the elections;
c) the candidate is entered in more than one party list and he/she gives or gave his/her consent to be entered simultaneously into more than one party list;
d) the candidate entered in the party list gives his/her consent to be nominated for a majoritarian electoral district by another party/electoral bloc;
e) the other election is held during the parliamentary election of Georgia and the candidate for MP of Georgia gives or gave his/her consent to run in that election with the status of a candidate;
f) the requirements defined in Article 47(1) and/or Article 48 are not met.
g) the majoritarian candidate failed to take a drug test or the drug test proves that the candidate is a drug user.
6. A decree issued by the CEC/DEC chairperson regarding the refusal of electoral registration of a party list and candidates for MP of Georgia nominated by a political party/electoral bloc/initiative group of voters may be appealed under the procedure defined in Articles 77 and 78 of this Law.
Article 118 - Cancelation of electoral registration for registered majoritarian candidates
The CEC Chairperson shall by decree cancel the electoral registration of any registered majoritarian candidate, provided:
a) the candidate applies for cancellation;
b) the Constitutional Court of Georgia prohibits operation of the party nominating the candidate;
c) the electoral registration of nominating party/electoral bloc/initiative group of voters is cancelled under Article 114(14) of this Law;
d) the person dies;
e) in other cases as defined by this Law.
Article 119 - Determination of sequence numbers for electoral subjects
1. A sequence number shall be determined for an electoral subject 30 days before elections as defined in this article. In order to determine a sequence number, appropriate procedures shall be conducted in the respective election commission premises in the presence of persons authorised to be present at the session of the commission.
2. A political union that received the most votes during the previous parliamentary elections held under the proportional system may be the first to choose a sequence number. A representative of a political union shall file an application with the CEC, whereby the political union shall maintain the sequence number assigned to it during the previous parliamentary elections or shall take number ‘one’. The political unions that were in second and third places according to the results of the previous parliamentary elections shall have the right to successively choose a sequence number under the same procedure. Those political unions may maintain the number assigned to them during the previous parliamentary elections or may choose numbers ‘two’ or ‘three’ accordingly, except when the number assigned to them during the previous parliamentary elections has been assigned to a political union that placed higher in the previous parliamentary elections.
3. If a sequence number was assigned to an electoral bloc during the previous parliamentary elections, a party nominated first in the electoral bloc list may use the same number.
4. If political parties having run in the previous parliamentary elections create an electoral bloc for elections, they shall specify in the statute of the bloc the sequence number that they will use for the party.
5. A sequence number for all electoral subjects shall, except for the political unions referred to in the second paragraph of this article, be determined by casting lots.
6. In order to cast lots, the commission chairperson shall write numbers corresponding to the number of parties and electoral blocs on sheets of paper of the same type, size, and shape with the same pen. Each sheet of paper shall be certified by the commission seal. Thereafter, the numbers chosen according to the second paragraph of this article shall be set aside. All remaining sheets of paper shall be folded so as to make it impossible to read the numbers written thereon. The CEC Chairperson shall put the sheets of paper in a transparent box and one representative of each party and electoral bloc shall take one sheet of paper out of the box. The number identified by casting lots shall be assigned to an electoral subject.
7. Majoritarian candidates nominated by a party/electoral bloc shall have the same sequence number assigned to the nominating political party/electoral bloc.
8. The respective DEC shall assign a sequence number, by casting lots, to the candidate nominated by an initiative group of voters. In order to cast lots, the commission chairperson shall write numbers corresponding to the number of majoritarian candidates nominated by the initiative group of voters in the electoral district on sheets of paper of the same type, size, and shape with the same pen. The numbers shall start from the number following the highest sequence number assigned to parties/electoral blocs running in elections. Each sheet of paper shall be endorsed by the commission seal. All sheets of paper shall be folded so as to make it impossible to read the numbers written thereon. The commission chairperson shall put the sheets of paper in a transparent box and one representative of each initiative group of voters shall take one sheet of paper out of the box. The number identified by casting lots shall be assigned to an electoral subject.
9. If electoral registration of an electoral subject is cancelled, the remaining electoral subjects shall maintain their assigned sequence numbers.
10. Not later than the 25th day before the polling day the CEC shall publish on its official website the lists of registered parties, including the data of candidates registered in a majoritarian electoral district that are entered onto a ballot paper.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 120 - Revocation of decisions on nomination of candidates for MP of Georgia
1. A candidate for MP of Georgia, as well as the nominating party or electoral bloc, shall have the right to refuse, at any time, but not later than 10 days before polling day, to run in the election or to accept the nominated candidate, in which case they shall file an application with the respective election commission.
2. A party running independently in elections or an electoral bloc may, after the recognition of authority of the elected members of Parliament/Sakrebulo, revoke its decision about nominating a candidate for member of Parliament/Sakrebulo remaining in the party list. A party/electoral bloc may not revoke its decision about nominating a candidate for member of Parliament/Sakrebulo remaining in the party list when the authority of the member of Parliament/Sakrebulo elected under the same list ceases, until the authority of his/her successor is recognized. The candidacy nominated by the party, electoral bloc shall be withdrawn by CEC decree, based on an application signed by the party leader (the person determined by the statutes of the party/electoral bloc), within three days after submission of the application. Unless the application is satisfied within this time, the candidate for member of Parliament/Sakrebulo shall be deemed withdrawn from the party list on the day following the end of the third day.
3. A candidate for MP of Georgia may withdraw his/her candidacy from a party list after the recognition of authority of the elected MPs by filing an application with the CEC. The candidacy shall be withdrawn by a decree of CEC Chairperson within three days after filing the application. If the application is not satisfied within this time, the candidate for MP shall be deemed withdrawn from the party list on the day following the end of the third day.
4. The CEC shall immediately publish on its official website the information about removal of an electoral subject or individual candidate from elections.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 121 - Release of candidates for MP of Georgia from official duties
A candidate for MP of Georgia shall be granted unpaid leave for the election campaign period based on his/her application and an appropriate certificate.
Article 122 - Immunity of candidates for MP of Georgia
1. A candidate for MP of Georgia shall not be detained, arrested, or searched until the CEC officially publishes final election results, while a person announced by the CEC as an elected MP of Georgia shall not be detained, arrested, or searched until the final decision is made about the recognition of his/her authority, unless the CEC approves an application filed by the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia. An exception shall be the case in which a candidate is caught in the act of committing a crime, which shall be immediately reported to the CEC. If the CEC issues a decree, the detained or arrested candidate for MP of Georgia shall be released immediately.
2. The CEC decree for giving its approval as referred to in this article shall be put to vote within three calendar days after filing of an application by the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia.
Organic Law of Georgia No 668 of 30 May 2013 - website, 24.6.2013
Chapter XIV - Summarising Results of Parliamentary Elections of Georgia
Article 123 - Counting of votes at PECs
1. A PEC shall summarize the polling results and shall enter them into summary protocols of the final results of elections held through the majoritarian and proportional systems.
2. A summary protocol of the results of elections held through the proportional electoral system shall be drawn up according to party lists, while a summary protocol of the results of elections held through the majoritarian electoral system shall be drawn up according to the candidates nominated in the majoritarian electoral district.
Article 124 - Summarisation of polling results at DECs
1. A DEC shall, based on protocols of PECs and decisions of district/city courts, summarize polling results at its session and shall enter them into summary protocols of final results of elections held through the majoritarian and proportional systems.
2. The DEC shall, based on an application/complaint, decide by decree to open packages received from PECs and to re-count ballot papers.
Article 125 - Summarisation of election results at the CEC
1. The CEC shall, based on protocols received from DECs, PECs and on final court decisions, summarize the election results for the Parliament of Georgia at its sessions and shall draw up protocols not later than the 19th day after Election Day.
2. One counterpart of the protocol shall be kept with the CEC, the second counterpart shall be delivered to the Parliament of Georgia, while the copies endorsed by the CEC seal shall be delivered to the representatives of electoral subjects.
3. A candidate for MP of Georgia, who receives more votes than others, but not less than 30% of the total number of votes cast in elections in the respective majoritarian electoral district, shall be deemed elected in the majoritarian electoral district. The number of votes cast in the election may not include the number of votes recorded on invalid ballot papers.
4. Seats of MPs of Georgia shall be granted only to the party list that receives not less than 5% of the votes cast in the election. The number of votes cast in the election shall not include the number of votes recorded on invalid ballot papers.
5. In order to determine the number of seats obtained by a party list, the number of votes obtained by that list shall be multiplied by 77 and divided by the total number of the votes cast for electoral subjects. The integer part of the number thus received shall represent the number of the seats obtained by the party list.
6. If the total number of the seats obtained by a party/electoral bloc is less than 77, undistributed seats shall, first of all, be added in succession to the electoral subjects who have passed the electoral threshold but obtained less than 6 seats, in order to increase the number of seats to 6.
7. If the number of seats obtained by any electoral subject still is less than 6 after the distribution of seats as defined in the sixth paragraph of this article, in order to increase the number of seats to 6, one seat shall be deducted in succession from the electoral subjects that have obtained more than 6 seats so that the number of seats remaining with the electoral subject is not less than 7 as a result of the deduction.
8. If there are still undistributed seats remained after the procedures provided for by the sixth paragraph of this article, they shall be distributed in succession, until no seats are left, to the electoral subjects that have obtained not less than 6 seats without a supplement.
9. If the number of votes received by 2 or more party lists turns out to be equal, the seat shall be awarded to the list that was registered with the CEC earlier.
10. If a candidate for MP of Georgia is elected both through the majoritarian electoral system and under the party list, he/she shall be deemed elected through the majoritarian electoral system. The place of the candidate in the party list shall be taken by another candidate as defined in Article 130(2) of this Law.
11. The candidates for MP of Georgia whose sequence numbers in the party list are less than or equal to the number of seats obtained by the list shall be deemed elected under the party list. The number of MPs elected under that list shall remain unchanged.
12. If polling results of more than half of electoral precincts in any electoral district are declared void as a consequence of gross violations of this Law and that affects the election results, or if polling results of several electoral precincts, in which the total number of voters is more than half of the total number of voters in the electoral district, are declared void and that affects the election results, the majoritarian election results in the electoral district shall be deemed void and the CEC shall call for a re-run election in the electoral district.
13. If polling results are declared void during elections held under the proportional electoral system as a consequence of gross violations of this Law in more than half of or in several electoral districts, in which the total number of voters is more than half of the total number of voters in Georgia, the election results shall be declared void and the CEC shall call for re-run elections.
14. If an application/complaint is filed for the verification or invalidation of polling results, the CEC shall by decree decide on opening the sealed packages and re-counting the ballot papers received from the respective PEC, or the CEC shall assign that activity to the respective DEC/special group. If necessary, the CEC may summarize election results based on protocols drawn up by PECs.
15. In an electoral precinct in which the polling results have been declared void, the CEC shall call a repeat vote in that precinct, provided that the difference between the votes cast for the candidates with the best results in the electoral district is less than the total number of voters in the electoral precinct. If the polling results of the repeat vote are also declared void, the election results shall be summarised without giving consideration to the results from that precinct.
16. A repeat vote may be called either after the first round or after the second round of elections. If necessary, the CEC shall have the right to assign the same or a different composition of the PEC to hold a repeat vote. A repeat vote shall be held within two weeks after the first or second round of elections.
17. A repeat vote during elections held through the proportional electoral system shall be called if the total number of voters in those precincts, in which the results have been declared void, is more than 10% of the total number of voters in Georgia. In this case, the repeat vote shall be held not later than two weeks after general election day.
18. Summary protocols of the final election results shall include the names and numbers of the electoral districts and precincts in which elections were declared void. Further, the protocols shall indicate the number of voters in the districts and precincts, the reasons for declaring the elections void, the total number of voters in each electoral district, the number of voters participating in election, the number of MPs elected, and the list of elected MPs in alphabetical order.
19. The CEC shall publish the summary protocol of election results on its official website within five days after the final results of the election are summarised.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 126 - Second round of parliamentary elections of Georgia
1. If no MP of Georgia is elected in the first round of majoritarian elections, the CEC shall call a second round of elections along with summarising the first round results. The second round of elections shall be held not later than the 14th day after the first round. The two candidates having the best results in the first round shall run in the second round of the election. If more than 2 candidates obtained the same results or several majoritarian candidates who were in second place coming after the one with the best results received an equal number of votes, all of the candidates shall run in the second round of elections.
2. A candidate who receives the most votes in the second round of elections shall be deemed elected. If candidates receive an equal number of votes, the candidate with more votes in the first round elections shall be deemed elected. If the votes received in the first round are also equal, re-run elections shall be called.
Article 127 - Re-run elections for the Parliament of Georgia
1. If elections are declared failed and if election results in the majoritarian electoral district are declared void, re-run elections shall be held.
2. Re-run elections shall be held within two months after the failure of elections is declared, as well as after election results are declared void. The CEC shall by decree announce an Election Day and determine time frames for electoral events not later than seven days after declaring failure of elections or after declaring election results void.
3. The CEC shall by decree announce the date for re-run elections to be held in majoritarian electoral districts along with the time frames for electoral events not later than two months before Election Day.
4. If elections held through the proportional electoral system are declared conducted but none of the parties and electoral blocs have received at least 5% of the votes cast in the elections, re-run elections shall be held under CEC decree within two weeks after summarising the election results.
5. Only the parties and electoral blocs that received at least 2% of the votes cast in the general elections shall have the right to participate in re-run elections. The party lists of the parties and electoral blocs participating in re-run elections shall remain unchanged. Changes in the lists shall be made only under the procedure defined in this Law.
Article 128 - Extraordinary elections for the Parliament of Georgia
In the case of pre-term dissolution of the Parliament of Georgia, extraordinary elections for the Parliament of Georgia shall be held on the 60th day after the issuance of a presidential edict on pre-term dissolution of the Parliament, and the President of Georgia shall set the date for the extraordinary elections as soon as the edict on pre-term dissolution of the Parliament comes into effect.
Article 129 - By-elections for the Parliament of Georgia
1. By-elections for the Parliament of Georgia shall be held in April or October as defined in this Law if any MP elected from a majoritarian electoral district is withdrawn. If the term of office of an MP terminates between February 15 and July 15, by-elections for the Parliament of Georgia shall be held in October of the same year, while by-elections for the Parliament of Georgia shall be held in the nearest April if an MP’s term of office terminates between July 15 and February 15. By-elections may not be held during the year of regular elections for the Parliament of Georgia.
2. CEC decree shall, not later than two months before Election Day, set a date of by-elections for the Parliament of Georgia and time frames for electoral events.
3. With the purpose of running in parliamentary elections of Georgia, a party/electoral bloc that was registered with the CEC during the previous parliamentary elections shall, after by-elections are called, but not later than the 57th day before Election Day, file an application with CEC, signed by the leader(s), in order to obtain the right to run in by-elections.
Organic Law of Georgia No 154 of 21 December 2012 - website, 8.1.2013
Article 130 - Procedure for replacing an MP of Georgia who withdraws
1. If an MP of Georgia who was elected under the party list of party independently running in the elections withdraws, his/her seat shall be occupied by the next successful candidate for MP in the party list within one month, provided that the candidate gives his/her consent within 15 days after the vacancy. Otherwise, the vacancy shall be taken by the next successful candidate in the list, etc. If there is no candidate remaining in the party list, the seat of the MP of Georgia shall be cancelled.
2. If an MP of Georgia who was elected under the party list of an electoral bloc withdraws and the party list specifies that he/she was a member of one of the parties of an electoral bloc, the seat of the member who withdraws shall be occupied within one month by the next successful candidate of the same party in the list, if the candidate gives his/her consent to become an MP of Georgia within 15 days after the vacancy. Otherwise, the vacant seat shall be occupied by the candidate of the same party named next in the list, etc. Unless the party list specifies that the person is a member of one of the parties of the electoral bloc, his/her successor shall be appointed as defined in the first paragraph of this article.
3. After the Parliament of Georgia recognizes the authority of MPs, the status of a candidate for MP shall be suspended for the persons remaining in the party lists. Immediately after the pre-term termination of powers of an MP elected under the party list, the status of a candidate for MP shall be reinstated to the person who is the successor of that MP according to this article.
Article 131 - Registration of elected MPs of Georgia
The CEC shall, within two days after summarising the final results of elections, register the elected MPs of Georgia and give them temporary certificates as MPs of Georgia.
Article 132 - Drug testing of elected MPs of Georgia
1. All candidates for MP of Georgia supposedly elected under the party list of the parties/electoral blocs, which have passed the electoral threshold according to preliminary results, shall not later than the 7th day after polling day pass a drug test and an appropriate certificate shall be completed stating that the candidate for MP either is or is not a drug user.
2. If a person who is elected an MP under the party list fails to pass a drug test within the time frame referred to in the first paragraph of this article and/or refuses to take the drug test, the Parliament of Georgia shall adopt a resolution denying recognition of authority of the MP.
3. The institution authorised to conduct drug testing shall, not later than the 14th day after elections, submit to the CEC the certificate of drug testing and the list of elected MPs who have passed the drug test.
4. In the case described in the second paragraph of this article, the CEC shall determine a successor for an MP according to the first and second paragraphs of Article 130 of this Law.
5. A drug test shall be carried out by an authorised institution. The CEC shall draw up a list of such institutions by decree, not later than the 57th day before Election Day.
Chapter XV - Elections for Local Self-Government Bodies
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 133 - Calling elections for a local self-government representative body - Sakrebulo, Mayor of a self-governing city and Gamgebeli of a self-governing community
1. Elections for a Sakrebulo, or Mayoral/Gamgebeli elections of a self-governing city/community shall be conducted after the lapse of a full three years from the last respective elections, in October of the fourth year.
2. The President of Georgia shall, with the Prime Minister’s countersignature, call regular elections for a Sakrebulo, for a Mayor/Gamgebeli of a self-governing city/community, not later than 60 days before expiration of the term of office the Sakrebulo, Mayor or Gamgebeli.
3. Elections for a Sakrebulo, a Mayor/Gamgebeli of a self-governing city/community may not be conducted during a state of emergency or martial law. If an election due date coincides with a state of emergency or martial law, the election shall be held not later than 60 days after the state of emergency or martial law has been lifted.
4. Information about calling elections for a Sakrebulo, a Mayor/Gamgebeli of a self-governing city community shall be published on the official CEC website and through the media not later than the next day after the elections are called.
Organic Law of Georgia No 1019 of 6 September 2013 – website, 23.9.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 134 - Active and passive suffrage
1. Any citizen of Georgia who has attained the age of 21 by polling day and has permanently resided in Georgia for at least five years, including at least the last two years up to and including the day of calling the elections, may be elected a Sakrebulo member.
2. Any citizen of Georgia having the right to vote and who has attained the age of 21 by polling day and has permanently resided in Georgia for at least five years, including at least the last two years up to and including the day of calling the elections, may be elected as a Mayor/Gamgebeli of a self-governing city/community.
3. A citizen of Georgia may not simultaneously be a member of another representative body and a Mayor/Gamgebeli of a self-governing city/community.
4. Voters of the respective electoral district and local majoritarian electoral district shall participate in the elections for a Sakrebulo, a Mayor/Gamgebeli of a self-governing city/community by active suffrage.
5. Personnel of the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Defence of Georgia, the State Security Service of Georgia shall participate in the elections for a Sakrebulo, and a Mayor/Gamgebeli of a self-governing city/community by active suffrage under the procedure established by Article 32(6) of this Law.
6. Voters permanently residing abroad on the day the elections are called, or voters temporarily staying outside Georgia on Election Day, shall not participate in the elections for a Sakrebulo or Mayor/Gamgebeli of a self-governing city/community.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 3973 of 8 July 2015 – website, 15.7.2015
Article 135 - Term of office of the local self-government representative body - Sakrebulo, Mayor/Gamgebeli of a self-governing city/community
1. The term of office of a Sakrebulo or a Mayor/Gamgebeli of a self-governing city/community elected in the regular elections shall be four years.
2. The term of office of the new composition of the Sakrebulo shall commence and that of the previous one shall end upon the first meeting of the newly elected Sakrebulo.
3. If the term of office of the Sakrebulo is prematurely terminated, the term of office of the newly elected Sakrebulo shall commence upon its first meeting.
4. The term of office of the newly elected Mayor/Gamgebeli of a self-governing city/community shall commence and that of the previous one shall end on the 11th day after the respective election commission draws up a summary protocol of the election results (after the Mayor/Gamgebeli is announced as elected).
5. If the term of office of the Mayor/Gamgebeli of a self-governing city/community is prematurely terminated, the term of office of the newly elected Mayor/Gamgebeli shall commence on the 11th day after the respective election commission draws up a summary protocol of the election results (after the Mayor/Gamgebeli is announced as elected).
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 136 - Incompatibility of the status of Sakrebulo candidates, or of Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidates of a self-governing city/community with their office
1. The term of office of the following officials shall be terminated after being nominated as Sakrebulo candidates, or as Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidates of a self-governing city/community:
a) the President of Georgia;
b) Ministers of Georgia and of the Autonomous Republics of Abkhazia and Ajara, heads of state and government subordinate agencies and their deputies;
c) members of the National Security Council of Georgia;
d) members of the Council of the National Bank of Georgia and the Council of the Financial Supervision Agency of Georgia;
e) the Auditor General and his/her deputies;
f) the head of administration of the Parliament of Georgia;
g) state trustees - governors and their deputies;
h) officers of the Ministries of Internal Affairs and Defence of Georgia, the State Security Service of Georgia, the Georgian Intelligence Service, and the Special State Protection Service of Georgia;
i) judges;
j) the Public Defender of Georgia and his/her deputy;
k) members of the advisory body of the President of Georgia (not being the MPs);
l) assistants to the President of Georgia;
m) members of the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNEWSRC) and other national regulatory commissions;
n) the head of the Civil Service Bureau and his/her deputies;
o) prosecutors, their deputies, assistants, and investigators.
2. The powers of the officials referred to in the first paragraph of this article shall terminate before their nomination as candidates in the respective election commission.
Organic Law of Georgia No 6551 of 22 June 2012 – website, 29.6.2012
Organic Law of Georgia No 6601 of 29 June 2012 – website, 13.7.2012
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 3973 of 8 July 2015 – website, 15.7.2015
Organic Law of Georgia No 4192 of 3 September 2015 – website, 10.9.2015
Article 137 - Electoral districts
1. Each independent self-governing unit constitutes one electoral district for the elections of a Sakrebulo or a Mayor/Gamgebeli of a self-governing city/community.
2. The CEC shall determine by a decree the list of the DECs whose territorial jurisdiction comprises more than one self-governing unit.
3. Within two days after calling elections, the CEC shall publish on its official website information about the electoral districts, indicating their boundaries.
4. For Sakrebulo elections, the appropriate DECs shall establish local majoritarian electoral districts and define their boundaries. For Tbilisi Sakrebulo elections, the CEC shall establish such electoral districts and define their boundaries within two days after the elections are called, taking into consideration the territorial and administrative peculiarities of the self-governing unit concerned.
5. DECs shall, within three days after elections are called, publish on the official CEC website, information about the local majoritarian electoral districts, indicating their boundaries.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Chapter XVI - Sakrebulo Elections of Self-Governing Communities and Self-Governing Cities (other than Tbilisi)
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 138 - Electoral system
Elections of a Sakrebulo shall be held through the proportional and majoritarian electoral systems.
Article 139 - Right to vote
In the elections to a Sakrebulo of a self-governing community or of a self-governing city, a voter shall have one vote under the proportional electoral system and one vote under the majoritarian electoral system.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 140 - Composition of Sakrebulo
1. The Sakrebulo of a self-governing community shall be composed of 15 members elected through the proportional electoral system and 1 member elected through the majoritarian electoral system from each community and city comprised by that self-governing community.
2. The Sakrebulo of a self-governing city (other than Tbilisi) shall be composed of:
a) 15 members elected through the proportional system and 10 members elected through the majoritarian system, if the number of voters exceeds 75 000;
b) 10 members elected through the proportional system and 5 members elected through the majoritarian system, if the number of voters does not exceed 75 000.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 141 - The right to run for a Sakrebulo
1. A party, an electoral bloc, a candidate nominated by a party, an electoral bloc, and an initiative group voters composed of 5 people, registered with the respective election commission, shall be authorised to run for a Sakrebulo.
2. The nomination of a candidate by an initiative group of voters shall be endorsed by the signatures of 1% (not less than 50 voters) of supporting voters, registered in the territory of a corresponding local electoral district.
3. An initiative group of voters and a candidate nominated by such group shall be registered according to the requirements of Article 116 (other than paragraphs (8) and (9) of the same article) of this Law.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 1411 - Guarantees of participation in the elections to local self-government bodies
No employer may limit an employee’s right to run in elections for local self-government bodies, to become a Sakrebulo member or a Mayor/Gamgebeli. Any labour contract containing an agreement limiting an employee’s right to exercise the above right shall be void. No employee may be discharged, transferred to a lower-paying job or otherwise discriminated on the above grounds.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 142 - Registration of parties/electoral blocs
1. To obtain the right to run for a Sakrebulo, a party/electoral bloc shall apply to the CEC chairperson with an appropriate application signed by its leader(s):
a) after the Sakrebulo elections are called, but not later than the 57th day before Election Day, provided the party/electoral bloc meets one of the following conditions:
a.a) was registered in the last parliamentary election;
a.b) has a representative in the Parliament of Georgia on the day of calling the elections. An MP elected after being nominated by the respective party or electoral bloc (within which the party was united) shall be deemed as the representative of the party;
b) from 1 January to 1 August of the year of the elections for local self-government bodies, if the party fails to meet any of the conditions under subparagraph (a) of this paragraph.
2. A party failing to meet any of the conditions under paragraph (1)(a) of this article shall, within 60 days after receiving a sample form of the list of supporting voters, but not later than 15 August, submit to the CEC a list of at least 1 000 voters, provided such party is a qualified electoral subject, but if it is not a qualified electoral subject, a list of at least 25 000 (the number shall not exceed 1% of the total number of voters) voters supporting the party’s participation in the Sakrebulo elections. The appropriate CEC office shall verify the list of supporting voters under the procedure and within the time frame provided for in Article 38 of this Law. During the election period, the appropriate CEC office shall verify the lists of supporting voters and present a report to the CEC chairperson within two days after the list is submitted.
3. (Deleted – 7.3.2014, No 2093).
4. The application shall have attached either a certificate of registration of the party and its statutes, or copies of these documents attested by a notary.
5. The application shall include the following information about the party:
a) the name, in full or in short, and/or abbreviation, under which it runs in the election
b) first name, last name, address (according to the identity card of a citizen of Georgia or the Agency database), telephone number and a specimen signature of the leader(s)
c) the last name, first name, address (according to the identity card of a citizen of Georgia or the Agency database), telephone number and scope of authority of the representative
d) in case there are several heads – the scope of powers for each head with respect to the election process.
6. The name, in full or in short, and the abbreviation referred to in paragraph 5(a) of this article shall not coincide with:
a) the official name, short title or abbreviation of another party registered by the Ministry for Justice of Georgia (if it coincides, the party may not use it)
b) the title, short title or abbreviated name of the electoral bloc under which it participates in the elections, if this bloc has applied to the CEC earlier (if it coincides, the party may not use it)
c) the name, short title or abbreviation used by another party/electoral bloc during the previous parliamentary elections, unless that party/bloc gives its consent.
7. The designated office of the CEC shall verify the application and its attached documents and shall submit its report to the CEC Chairperson not later than the day following submission of the application.
8. Not later than the day following submission of the report referred to in the seventh paragraph of this article, the CEC Chairperson shall:
a) register the party and its representative for election purposes if the application filed and the documents attached meet the requirements of this Law;
b) submit a written notification to a representative of the party about any non-compliance of the filed application and the attached documents with the provisions of this Law (specifying the details of non-compliance) and give the party two days after receipt of notice for correction of the application and documents.
c) in the case provided for by the third paragraph of this article, decide on the final registration of the party only after verifying the list of supporters.
9. A corrected application and documents referred to in paragraph 8(b) of this article shall be verified and the decision about electoral registration shall be made not later than the following day after their submission. If the corrected application and documents meet the requirements of this Law, the CEC Chairperson shall register the party and its representative for election purposes (except for cases provided for by the third paragraph of this article). Otherwise, the CEC Chairperson shall, within the same time frame, issue a decree refusing to provide electoral registration (the decree shall specify the reasons for the refusal to provide electoral registration and the applicable provisions of this Law that are the basis for refusal). A representative of the party shall immediately be notified about the decree and shall be provided with a copy of the decree upon request. These procedures shall be completed not later than the 37th day before Election Day.
10. If an application, attached documents (or a corrected application and documents), and the list of supporting voters under this article are submitted within the time frame defined in this Law and meet the requirements thereof, the CEC Chairperson shall, based on a report of the respective CEC office, register the party and its representative for election purposes not later than the day following submission of the report. Otherwise, the CEC Chairperson shall issue a decree within the same time frame about the refusal to provide electoral registration (the decree shall specify the reasons for the refusal to provide electoral registration and the provisions of this Law that are the basis for refusal). A representative of the party shall immediately be notified about the decree and shall be provided with a copy of the decree upon request.
11. Parties registered by the CEC may establish and abandon from an electoral bloc. In order to register an electoral bloc, not later than the 43rd day before Election Day, the CEC Chairperson shall be provided with the application signed by all authorised heads of all parties united in the bloc and the electoral bloc’s statute.
12. The application shall include the following information concerning the electoral bloc:
a) the name and, if applicable, short title and/or abbreviation of the bloc, under which it participates in the elections, as well as the list of the parties united in the bloc
b) first name, last name, address (according to the identity card of a citizen of Georgia or the Agency database) of the leader(s)
c) the last name, first name, address (according to the identity card of a citizen of Georgia or the Agency database), telephone number and scope of authority of the representative
d) in case there are several head(s) – the scope of powers of each head with respect to the election process.
13. Name of the electoral bloc, its short title and abbreviation referred to in paragraph 12(a) of this article shall not coincide with:
a) an official name, short title or the abbreviation of another party (except for the party united in the same bloc), registered by the Ministry for Justice of Georgia (if it coincides, the party shall have no right to use it)
b) a name, short title and abbreviation of another electoral bloc, under which it participates in the elections, if this bloc has applied to the CEC earlier (if it coincides, the bloc shall have no right to use it)
c) a name, short title and abbreviation used by another electoral bloc during the previous parliamentary elections, unless the other electoral bloc give its consent.
14. The statutes of the electoral bloc signed by the heads of all parties united in the electoral bloc shall include:
a) the name and, if applicable, short title and/or abbreviation of the electoral bloc, under which the bloc participates in the elections
b) a list of parties united in the electoral bloc
c) the management body (if any) of the electoral bloc, head officials and their powers
d) the decision-making procedure of the electoral bloc, including the rules for admission, withdrawal and exclusion of a party from the bloc, and nomination and cancellation of nomination of candidates for membership of the representative body by the bloc
e) a person authorised to sign bloc documentation
f) the procedure for using the stamp of one of the parties united in the bloc in relation to election activities
g) the procedure for appointing persons responsible for election campaign expense, a manager and an accountant
h) the procedure for amending the statutes of the electoral bloc.
15. A party united in the electoral bloc shall not join another electoral bloc or independently participate in one and the same elections.
16. Upon receipt of the application and statutes referred to in the eleventh paragraph of this article, the CEC shall provide the representative of the bloc with a document confirming their receipt.
17. The respective CEC office shall verify the application and statutes referred to in the eleventh paragraph of this article, and shall submit its report to the CEC not later than the day following the filing of the application with the CEC Chairperson. The CEC Chairperson shall immediately register the electoral bloc and its representative if the submitted documents meet the requirements under paragraphs 12-15 of this article. If the submitted documents fail to meet the above requirements, the CEC Chairperson shall notify in writing the representative of the electoral bloc of the non-compliance of the documents with the provisions of this Law (detailing the non-compliance). Corrected documents shall be returned to the CEC not later than the next day following notification. Final decision on registration shall be made by the CEC Chairperson immediately after the receipt of the corrected documents. If the corrected documents meet the requirements of this Law, the CEC Chairperson shall register the electoral bloc and its representative. Otherwise, the CEC Chairperson shall issue a decree denying registration (the decree shall specify the reasons for the refusal to provide electoral registration and the applicable provisions of this Law that are the basis for refusal). The representative of the electoral bloc shall immediately be informed of this decree and upon his/her request provided with a copy of the decree. These procedures shall be completed by the 37th day before Election Day.
18. A party that has been registered shall be authorised to join a registered electoral bloc before the expiration of the term for registration of electoral blocs. To that effect, the party shall submit to the CEC Chairperson an appropriate application along with the consent of the electoral bloc.
19. Upon completion of registration of the electoral bloc the powers of representatives of party members united in the bloc in every election commission shall, by CEC Chairperson decree, be terminated and the bloc shall be authorised to appoint 2 representatives to each election commission.
20. In the case of withdrawal or exclusion of the party/parties from the electoral bloc before the expiration of the term for submission of party lists/candidates, each party shall be authorised to continue to participate in the elections. If, for this reason, only one party remains in the bloc, the electoral registration of the bloc shall be cancelled under the CEC Chairperson’s decree and the parties previously united in this bloc shall have the right to continue to participate in the elections.
21. In the case of withdrawal or exclusion of a party from an electoral bloc after expiration of the term for submission of party lists/candidates, registration of the party shall be cancelled by CEC Chairperson’s decree. If, for this reason, only one party remains in the bloc, the registration of the bloc shall be cancelled by CEC Chairperson’s decree and the remaining party shall become the successor of the bloc.
22. Not later than the 30th day before Election Day, the CEC shall publish on its official website the list of registered parties and electoral blocs listed in the order of submitted applications, as well as the list of the parties and electoral blocs that have been denied registration or whose registration has been cancelled, indicating the reasons for denial or cancellation.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 143 - Submission of party lists
1. In order to run for a Sakrebulo through the proportional electoral system, parties and electoral blocs independently participating in the elections shall submit their party lists to the corresponding DEC chairperson following the registration, but not later than 30 days before Election Day.
2. All parties and electoral blocs independently participating in the elections shall be authorised to submit only one party list.
3. The number of Sakrebulo candidates in the presented party list shall not be less than the number of members to be elected under the proportional system and shall not exceed triple that number.
4. A party list may include only a member of the given party or a person who is not a member of another party participating in the elections. A party list submitted by an electoral bloc may include only a member of a party united in the given bloc or a person not being a member of another party participating in the elections.
5. The procedure for drawing up a party list shall be determined by parties and electoral blocs, taking into account that the seats acquired by the party or the electoral bloc on the basis of the election results shall be distributed sequentially from the beginning of the list onwards and shall ensure gender balance with respect to additional funding as envisaged by the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Unions of Citizens.
6. The party list shall provide the following data for each candidate:
a) first and last names
b) date of birth
c) occupation
d) position (activity)
e) place of work (if unemployed, indicate ‘unemployed’)
f) party affiliation (in the case of being a party member; and if not, indicate ‘nonpartisan’)
g) personal number of a citizen of Georgia
h) place of registration
i) title and number of the local majoritarian electoral district, if nominated.
7. The party list shall be verified by the signature of the leader of the party independently participating in the elections. A party list of an electoral bloc shall be endorsed by the signatures of the leaders of all parties united in the bloc.
8. Two photos of each candidate and a registration card (two copies) signed by them, indicating the date of its completion, shall be attached to the party list. In addition to the candidate’s personal data (first name, last name, personal number of a Georgian citizen, address (according to the identity card of a citizen of Georgia or the Agency database), date of birth), the party list shall indicate the fact that the candidate has permanently resided in Georgia for five years, including for the last two years; it shall also contain the candidate’s consent to run for office on the party list.
9. The corresponding DEC shall forward the registration cards for Sakrebulo elections in advance to the representative of a party/electoral bloc. Upon the receipt of the documents, the representative of a party, electoral bloc shall be provided with the dated certificate confirming the receipt of the documents.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 2289 of 17 April 2014 – website, 17.4.2014
Article 144 - Nomination of candidates for member of a Sakrebulo in majoritarian electoral districts
1. The following entities shall have the right to nominate a candidate for member of a local self-government representative body Sakrebulo in the respective electoral district:
a) a party running in elections independently
b) an electoral bloc
c) an initiative group of 5 voters.
2. To nominate a majoritarian candidate in an electoral district, a party/an election bloc, participating independently in the elections, shall apply to the relevant DEC not later than the 30th day before polling day. An initiative group of voters shall apply to the relevant DEC under Article 141(3) of this Law.
3. The application shall specify the following information about a majoritarian candidate:
a) first and last name
b) date of birth (day/month/year)
c) occupation
d) position (activity)
e) place of work (if unemployed, specify ‘unemployed’)
f) personal number of a citizen of Georgia
g) place of registration
h) name of the electoral district, in which he/she is nominated as a majoritarian candidate
i) party membership (if a party member, but if not, specify ‘non-partisan’).
4. An application for nomination of a candidate for member of a local self-government representative body Sakrebulo shall be submitted to the respective election commission. The application shall be endorsed by signatures of authorised representatives of the party or all parties incorporated in the electoral bloc.
5. Two photos of a candidate and a registration card (two copies) signed by him/her shall be attached to the application. In addition to the candidate’s personal data (first name, last name, personal number of a Georgian citizen, address (according to the identity card of a citizen of Georgia or the Agency database), date of registration, date of birth), the application shall indicate the fact that such candidate has permanently resided in Georgia for five years, including the last two years; it shall also contain the candidate’s consent to run in the given electoral district.
6. A majoritarian candidate nominated in an electoral district by a party/election bloc participating independently in the elections may simultaneously be on the party list of a respective party/electoral bloc.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 2289 of 17 April 2014 – website, 17.4.2014
Article 145 - Registration of party lists and candidates for members of a Sakrebulo nominated in a local majoritarian electoral district
1. During the Sakrebulo elections, the appropriate DEC chairperson shall examine the documents of the party list submitted by a party/electoral bloc and the documents submitted for the registration of a Sakrebulo nominee in the local majoritarian electoral district. The respective DEC chairperson shall, within two days of receiving the documents, but not later than 28th day before Election Day:
a) register for the elections a party list, Sakrebulo candidates nominated by the electoral subject, provided the submitted party list and the accompanying documents, as well as the registration documents of a Sakrebulo majoritarian candidate meet the requirements referred to by this Law;
b) notify the representative of an electoral subject in writing of the non-conformity (if any) of the data in the party list and in its accompanying documents , as well as the non-conformity of the data in the registration documents of a Sakrebulo majoritarian candidate with the requirements referred to by this Law (specifying the details of non-conformity); a representative of the party/electoral bloc/initiative group of voters shall be given two days to bring the above list and documents in compliance with the requirements.
2. The corrected details referred to in paragraph (1)(b) of this article shall be verified and the question of registration for elections shall be decided within three days after such details are submitted.
3. If the corrected details meet the requirements referred to by this Law, the respective DEC chairperson shall register for elections a Sakrebulo majoritarian candidate if a party list or that part of the party list that meets the requirements referred to by this Law (if the number of candidates in that part of the list is not less than the statutory minimum) and issue, within the same time frame, a decree on refusing electoral registration to the rest of the candidates (the decree shall specify the reasons for refusal of registration and those legal provisions upon which the noncompliance is based). The decree shall be immediately communicated to a representative of a party/electoral bloc/initiative group of voters and delivered to him/her upon request.
4. The respective DEC chairperson shall issue certificates to candidates for members of a Sakrebulo within three days after registration of candidates.
5. A candidate nominated in an electoral district shall be registered if the following documents are submitted:
a) a candidate’s registration card specifying that the candidate has permanently resided in Georgia for five years, including the last two years
b) an application for nomination of the candidate endorsed by signatures of the leaders of the respective parties/electoral blocs
c) two photos of the candidate
d) the candidate’s consent to run in the polling.
6. A party list or a Sakrebulo candidate nominated by an electoral subject shall not be registered taking into account the requirement of the first, second and third paragraphs of this article, or their electoral registration shall be cancelled by a decree of the respective election commission chairperson or by court decision (in the case provided for in subparagraph (g) of this paragraph):
a) if the registration card does not indicate:
a.a) the candidate’s first name, last name
a.b) the candidate’s personal number of a citizen of Georgia
a.c) the candidate’s date of birth (day, month, year)
a.d) the candidate’s address (according to a Georgian citizen’s identity card or the Agency database)
a.e) the candidate’s party affiliation (in the case of party membership), and if the candidate has no party affiliation, the word ‘non-partisan’ shall be indicated
a.f) the candidate’s position and work place; if unemployed, ‘unemployed’ shall be indicated
a.g) the fact of a candidate’s permanent residence in Georgia for five years, including the last two years
a.h) the candidate’s consent to run for the Sakrebulo
a.i) the name and number of the local majoritarian electoral district, in which the candidate is nominated as a majoritarian candidate;
a.j) the date of the completion of the registration card;
b) if the candidate entered on the party list is a member of any other party participating in the elections;
c) if the candidate is entered on more than one party list and there is or was his/her consent to be simultaneously included in more than one party list;
d) if the candidate entered on a party list gives a written consent to be nominated as a candidate by any other party/electoral group/initiative group of voters;
e) if there is or was a consent of a Sakrebulo candidate to be simultaneously nominated as a candidate for another Sakrebulo or Mayor/Gamgebeli;
f) if, not later than on the second day before Election Day, the number of candidates on a registered party list is lower than the minimum number established by this Law;
g) if the requirements of Article 47 of this Law have been violated.
7. The DEC chairperson shall not register a candidate if the requirements listed in the fifth and sixth paragraphs of this article are not met.
8. A party/electoral bloc shall have the right to request to run in elections under the number assigned to it during the previous parliamentary elections. The party/electoral bloc shall submit an application to this effect to the CEC not later than the 40th day before Election Day. If during the previous parliamentary election the sequence number was assigned to an electoral bloc, the first party in the list of the bloc members shall have the right to use this number. Unless the right under this paragraph is exercised in the election to be held through the proportional electoral system, the sequence of parties and electoral blocs independently running in the election for a local self-government representative body Sakrebulo shall be determined according to the appropriate sequence of results of the previous parliamentary elections. Unless an electoral bloc that ran in the previous parliamentary elections runs in the Sakrebulo elections, the first party in the list of the bloc members shall have the right to use the sequence number assigned to the electoral bloc. If the first party in the list waives the right, the following party in the list shall have the right to use the number, etc. If the parties that ran in the previous parliamentary elections create a bloc for Sakrebulo elections, they shall specify in the bloc statutes which party’s sequence number they intend to use. If any party/electoral bloc fails to exercise the right to use the sequence number, the parties/electoral blocs standing next in the list shall move up.
9. The sequence order of electoral subjects shall be determined by lot under Article 119(2-6) of this Law not later than the 30th day before Election Day. The serial numbers of these electoral subjects shall start with the number which is greater by one than the last serial number assigned to the electoral subjects provided for in the eighth paragraph of this article.
10. For elections held under the majoritarian electoral system, candidates nominated by electoral subjects shall be assigned the serial numbers of their nominating electoral subjects.
11. If the registration of an electoral subject is cancelled after it has been assigned a serial number, the remaining electoral subjects shall maintain their previously assigned serial numbers.
12. Information regarding the sequential order of electoral subjects shall be published on the official CEC website not later than three days after the registration deadline expires. A list of the subjects that have been denied registration shall also be published within the same time frame.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 146 - Revocation of decisions on nomination of candidates
1. After registration, a party/electoral bloc/initiative group of voters may revoke its decision to nominate a candidate not later than 10 days before polling day.
2. A candidate may withdraw his/her candidacy not later than 10 days before Election Day by filing an application with the respective DEC.
21. The procedures under the first and second paragraphs of this article shall not apply to the second round of elections.
3. The DEC concerned shall immediately publish on the official CEC website the information on cancellation of a candidate’s registration or on revocation of a decision to nominate a candidate.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 147 - Ballots
1. Two types of ballots shall be produced for the elections of local self-government representative bodies Sakrebulos.
2. Ballot papers designed for local self-government representative body Sakrebulo elections held through the proportional electoral system shall include the names of parties/electoral blocs (the bloc name shall be followed by the names of parties incorporated in the bloc), listed in number sequence.
3. A ballot paper for Sakrebulo elections held under the majoritarian electoral system shall include serial numbers, and first and last names of all candidates nominated in the respective local majoritarian electoral district. The name of the respective party or electoral bloc shall be indicated next to the last name of the candidate nominated by a party or an electoral bloc, and the word ‘independent’ shall be indicated next to the last name of the candidate nominated by an initiative group of voters. Information about a candidate shall be entered into the ballot paper in the order determined by lot by the relevant DEC not later than the 10th day before Election Day.
4. In the ballot paper designed for local self-government representative body Sakrebulo elections held through the proportional electoral system, voters shall mark the sequence number of not more than 1 party/electoral bloc.
5. In the ballot paper designed for local self-government representative body Sakrebulo elections held through the majoritarian electoral system that includes the data of candidates, voters shall mark the sequence number of not more than 1 candidate.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 148 - Determination of election results held through the proportional electoral system
1. To determine the number of seats obtained by a party list, the number of votes received by the party list shall be multiplied by the number of the seats to be allocated under the proportional system in the electoral district and divided by the sum of the votes received by those parties/electoral blocs that received at least 4% of the votes cast in the elections. The integer part of the number thus determined shall be the number of seats obtained by the party list. The number of votes cast in the election shall not include the number of votes recorded on invalid ballot papers.
2. If the total number of seats obtained by party lists in an electoral district is less than the total number of seats, each unallocated seat shall first be allocated in sequence to the better polling party lists that failed to obtain a seat under the first paragraph of this article, but received at least 4% of the votes cast in the election. If any undistributed seat(s) is/are still left, each seat shall be allocated in sequence to the party lists that acquired at least one seat and have the largest fractional remainder. The number of votes cast in the election shall not include the number of votes recorded on invalid ballot papers.
3. If none of the party lists obtain a seat under the first paragraph of this article, one seat out of the number of seats to be allocated under the proportional system, shall be assigned to each of those subjects that received more votes than others. The number of votes cast in the election shall not include the number of votes recorded on invalid ballot papers.
4. If those two or more than two party lists to which one seat is to be assigned under the second or third paragraph of this article receive equal number of votes, the seat shall be assigned to the party list that was registered earlier for Sakrebulo elections with the respective DEC.
5. Candidates whose sequence numbers in a party list are less or equal to the number of seats obtained by the given party shall be deemed elected to Sakrebulo through the proportional electoral system.
6. If a candidate for member of a Sakrebulo is elected either from a single-seat majoritarian district or on a party list, he/she shall be deemed elected from the single-seat majoritarian electoral district and shall be removed from the party list, while the next candidate on the list shall move up under the procedure provided for by this Law.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 149 - Determination of election results held through the majoritarian electoral system
1. A candidate receiving more votes than other candidates shall be deemed elected to a Sakrebulo through the majoritarian electoral system.
2. If two candidates receive an equal number of votes, the candidate who was registered first with the respective DEC shall be deemed elected.
Article 150 - Summarising of Sakrebulo election results in DECs
1. A DEC may annul polling results in the electoral precinct where the law is grossly violated. Polling results may not be summarised in the DEC until a decision is made on complaints that could annul polling results in the precinct.
2. Elections shall be declared invalid in an electoral district if the number of invalid ballots in the district is more than half of the total number of voters participating in the election in that district and the results would affect the results of the election.
3. A DEC shall determine election results and draw up a protocol at its session.
4. During elections for a local self-government representative body Sakrebulo, a DEC shall, based on protocols received from PECs, determine the following:
a) total number of voters
b) number of participants in the election
c) number of invalid ballot papers
d) number of votes cast for each electoral subject.
5. A DEC summary protocol of election results shall be drawn up in three copies, one of which shall be transferred to the CEC, the second one shall be maintained with the respective DEC, and the third one shall be transferred to the seat commission of the respective Sakrebulo.
6. One copy of a summary protocol of the election results shall be forwarded to the CEC not later than the day following the day of summarising election results, a second copy shall be kept at the relevant DEC, a third copy shall be forwarded to the credentials committee of the Sakrebulo, and certified copies of the protocol shall be forwarded to representatives of parties/electoral blocs.
7. A DEC shall, after summarising results, immediately post a copy of the summary protocol of election results in a visible place for public availability.
8. A DEC shall publish information on the official CEC website of the results of Sakrebulo elections in the respective districts within 10 days after election results are summarised. The information shall also include party affiliation (if a Sakrebulo member has no party affiliation, the word ‘non-partisan’ shall be indicated), date of birth, occupation, position, and place of work of elected Sakrebulo members.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 2289 of 17 April 2014 – website, 17.4.2014
Article 151 - Convening of the first session of a local self-government representative body Sakrebulo
The CEC shall convene the first session of a local self-government representative body Sakrebulo throughout the territory of Georgia within 30 days after the final results of elections are summarised.
Organic Law of Georgia No 1019 of 6 September 2013 – website, 23.9.2013
Article 152 - Repeat and re-run voting
1. If polling is declared void in an electoral precinct, the respective DEC shall call repeat voting that shall be conducted within two weeks after the polling day. Repeat voting shall be held only if the difference between the candidate with the best results and the following candidate with the best results out of the candidates to be elected to the Sakrebulo is less than the total number of voters in the same precinct or in invalidated precincts.
2. If polling results are annulled in electoral precincts during repeat voting, the respective DEC shall summarize the election results held in the electoral district without considering results from those precincts.
3. If elections are declared invalid in an electoral district, re-run voting shall be held within two weeks.
Article 153 - Registration of elected members of the local self-government representative body Sakrebulo
The respective DEC chairperson shall, within five days after summarisation of final results of elections, register persons elected as members of the local self-government representative body Sakrebulo and shall provide them with appropriate certificates of election.
Article 154 - Procedure for filling vacancies of Sakrebulo members
1. If the term of office of a Sakrebulo member elected through the proportional system terminates early, his/her successor, the next candidate on the same party list, shall take his/her place in the Sakrebulo within two weeks, provided that the candidate accepts membership in the Sakrebulo within ten days after being notified by the CEC. If no candidate is left in the submitted party list, the seat shall be eliminated.
2. If the Sakrebulo member who last held the vacant seat was elected through the party list of an electoral bloc and the party list specified that the member was a member of one of the parties in the electoral bloc, the next candidate on the same party list for Sakrebulo membership shall replace him/her within two weeks, provided that the candidate accepts membership in the Sakrebulo within ten days after the vacancy occurs. Otherwise, the vacancy shall be filled by the next candidate on the same party list, etc. If the party list did not specify that the Sakrebulo member who last held the vacant seat is a member of one of the parties in the electoral bloc, his/her successor shall be determined under the first paragraph of this article.
3. If the term of office of a Sakrebulo member elected through the majoritarian system terminates early, by-elections shall be held under this Law. By-elections shall be held in the nearest May or October, provided that at least 60 days remain until the end of the respective month. By-elections shall not be held if less than one year remains until expiration of the Sakrebulo term.
4. Not later than the 50th day before Election Day, the CEC shall set the date for by-elections and the time frames for election events by a decree, taking into account the time frames specified in the fifth and sixth paragraphs of this article.
5. To participate in Sakrebulo by-elections, a party/electoral bloc indicated in Article 142(1)(a) of this Law, as well as a party registered for the last local self-government elections, shall apply to the CEC not later than the 47th day before Election Day. A party failing to meet this condition shall apply to the CEC within the same time frame. Upon receipt of the application, the CEC shall give such party a sample form of the list of party supporters to collect supporter signatures. An initiative group of voters shall apply to the CEC within the same time frame. The initiative group of voters as well as the candidate nominated by such group shall be registered under Article 141(3) of this Law.
6. The party, the registration of which under the fifth paragraph of this article requires presentation of the list of party supporters, shall present to the CEC the list of voters supporting the party’s participation in Sakrebulo elections not later than the 40th day before Election Day.
7. The candidate winning by-elections shall replace the Sakrebulo member elected through the majoritarian system for the remaining term of office.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 1541 – Extraordinary Sakrebulo elections
1. In the event of early dissolution/termination of the term of office of the Sakrebulo, extraordinary elections shall be held for the Sakrebulo concerned. No extraordinary elections shall be held if at the moment the Sakrebulo is dissolved, or its term of office is terminated, less than one year remains until the expiration of the term of office of the Sakrebulo concerned.
2. Extraordinary Sakrebulo elections shall be called by the President of Georgia with the countersignature of the Prime Minister of Georgia not earlier than the 8th and not later than the 10th day from the entry into force of the relevant legal act on early dissolution/termination of the term of office of the Sakrebulo. The elections shall be held not later than the 50th day after the elections are called.
3. In extraordinary elections, the Sakrebulo shall be elected for the remaining term of office of the Sakrebulo.
4. A party/an electoral bloc, or an initiative group of voters shall run in extraordinary Sakrebulo elections under Article 154(5),(6) of this Law. The CEC shall determine, by decree, the time frames for holding extraordinary Sakrebulo elections not later than the 49th day before Election Day.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Chapter XVII - Elections for the Sakrebulo of the Capital of Georgia – Tbilisi
Article 155 - Elections of the self-government body Sakrebulo of the capital of Georgia - Tbilisi
1. During elections of the Sakrebulo of the capital of Georgia – Tbilisi (‘Tbilisi Sakrebulo’), the norms determined by this Law shall be applied unless otherwise referred to in this Chapter.
2. During a state of emergency or martial law, elections of the Tbilisi Sakrebulo shall not be conducted. If the term of an the election coincides with a state of emergency or martial law, elections shall be held within 60 days after the lifting of the state of emergency or martial law.
3. Elections of the Tbilisi Sakrebulo are held under the majoritarian and proportional electoral systems.
4. The Tbilisi Sakrebulo is composed of 50 members, out of which 25 members are elected in the territory of local single-seat majoritarian electoral districts, and 25 – through the proportional electoral system in the whole territory of Tbilisi.
5. Considering the number of voters and existing boundaries of territorial units, the CEC shall by decree, within five days after calling of elections, set up local single-seat majoritarian electoral districts of Tbilisi and shall define their boundaries.
Article 156 - Electoral districts
1. There are ten electoral districts set up for Tbilisi Sakrebulo elections, held under the proportional electoral system:
a) Mtatsminda
b) Vake
c) Saburtalo
d) Krtsanisi
e) Isani
f) Samgori
g) Chughureti
h) Didube
i) Nadzaladevi
j) Gldani.
2. The CEC shall exercise the functions of an election commission in summarising the election results of the Tbilisi Sakrebulo held through the proportional system.
3. Election results of the Tbilisi Sakrebulo held under the majoritarian electoral system shall be summarised and determined by the relevant DEC.
Article 157 - Right to participate in Tbilisi Sakrebulo elections
1. A party, electoral bloc, candidates nominated by the party, electoral bloc and an initiative group of voters composed of at least 5 persons, if registered by the election commission as determined by this Law, shall have the right to take part in Tbilisi Sakrebulo elections.
2. Only parties and electoral blocs shall be authorised to participate in the elections held through the proportional electoral system and to acquire the seat of the Tbilisi Sakrebulo.
3. Candidates nominated by parties/electoral blocs/initiative group of voters shall have the right to run for the local single-seat majoritarian elections of Tbilisi Sakrebulo. An individual may not be nominated in more than one single-seat majoritarian electoral district.
4. A person nominated as a candidate in the Tbilisi Sakrebulo elections may not be simultaneously nominated as a candidate in the elections for the Mayor of Tbilisi, or for the Sakrebulo or Mayor/Gamgebeli of any other self-governing unit.
5. Incompatibility of the status of a candidate in the Tbilisi Sakrebulo election with his/her official capacity shall be determined by Article 136 of this Law. Paragraph 5(e) of Article 117 of this Law shall not apply to the incompatibility of the status of a candidate.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 158 - Submission of party lists
1. For obtaining seats of the Tbilisi Sakrebulo through the proportional electoral system, party lists shall be submitted to the CEC by the parties and electoral blocs not later than 30 days prior to the polling day.
2. Party lists of candidates to be elected in the Tbilisi Sakrebulo through the proportional electoral system shall include not less than 50 and not more than 100 candidates.
3. A party list may include a candidate nominated in the majoritarian electoral district. In such a case, a party list shall make a note of the nomination of the candidate for a single-seat majoritarian electoral district.
4. Party list may include members of the party and those individuals who are not members of other parties participating in the elections, while the party list of an electoral bloc may include members of parties united in the bloc or those individuals who are not members of other parties running in elections. A party/electoral bloc may nominate any capable citizen of Georgia, who speaks the Georgian language and has attained 21 years of age by the polling day, as a candidate for Sakrebulo elections.
5. The procedure for drawing up of the party list shall be defined by the parties and electoral blocs. While drafting the party list, it should be taken into account that the seats acquired by a party/electoral bloc according to the election results, shall be distributed sequentially, from the top of the list.
6. Party list shall indicate the following information on each candidate:
a) first and last name
b) date of birth
c) occupation
d) position (activity)
e) place of work (if unemployed, specify ‘unemployed’)
f) party affiliation (if not a party member, specify ‘non-partisan’)
g) personal number of a citizen of Georgia
h) address (according to a Georgian citizen’s identity card or the Agency database)
i) name of the local single-seat majoritarian electoral district in the case of nomination as a majoritarian candidate.
7. The party list of a party independently participating in the elections shall be endorsed with the signatures of the leader; the party list of an electoral bloc shall be endorsed with the signatures of leaders of all parties in the bloc.
8. Two photos of a candidate and two copies of the registration card signed by the candidate, indicating the date of its completion, shall be attached to the party list. In addition to the candidate’s personal data (first name, last name, personal number of a Georgian citizen, address (according to the identity card of a citizen of Georgia or the Agency database), date of birth), the registration card shall indicate the fact that the candidate has permanently resided in Georgia for five years, including the last two years. The registration card shall also contain the candidate’s consent to run for office on the party list.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 159 - Nomination of majoritarian candidates for membership in the Tbilisi Sakrebulo
1. The following shall be authorised to nominate majoritarian candidates for membership of Tbilisi Sakrebulo:
a) a party independently participating in elections
b) an electoral bloc
c) an initiative group of voters composed of at least 5 persons.
2. A party, electoral bloc and an initiative group of voters may nominate any capable citizen of Georgia, who speaks an official language and has attained 21 years by the time of polling day, as a candidate in elections of the Tbilisi Sakrebulo.
Article 160 - Ballot papers
1. During Tbilisi Sakrebulo elections, a voter shall be given one majoritarian ballot paper and one proportional ballot paper.
2. Voters participating in the elections shall mark only one assigned sequence number on the ballot paper.
Article 161 - Ascertaining the results of majoritarian elections of the Tbilisi Sakrebulo
A majoritarian candidate receiving the most number of votes in a single-seat majoritarian electoral district shall be deemed elected to the Tbilisi Sakrebulo. If two candidates receive an equal number of votes, the candidate who was the first to file an application for registration with the relevant DEC, shall be deemed elected.
Article 162 - Procedure for allocating seats in the Tbilisi Sakrebulo under the proportional system
1. Seats in the Tbilisi Sakrebulo shall be allocated under the proportional system only to electoral subjects that received at least 4% of votes cast in the election. Seats shall be allocated under this article.
2. To determine the number of seats received by a party list, the number of votes received by the party list shall be multiplied by 25 and divided by the sum of the votes received by those parties/electoral blocs that acquired at least 4% of the votes cast in the elections. The integer of the resulting number is the number of seats received by the party list. The number of votes cast in the elections shall not include the number of votes recorded on invalid ballot papers.
3. If the sum of the seats received by party lists is less than 25, each undistributed seat shall first be allocated, in sequence to the better polling party lists that failed to obtain a seat under the first paragraph of this article, but received at least 4% of the votes cast in the elections. If any undistributed seat(s) is/are still left, each seat shall be allocated in sequence to the party lists that obtained at least one seat and have the largest fractional remainder. The number of votes cast in the elections shall not include the number of votes recorded on invalid ballot papers.
4. If none of the party lists obtains a seat under the second paragraph of this article, each seat shall be awarded to those 25 subjects that received more votes than others. The number of votes cast in the elections shall not include the number of votes recorded on invalid ballot papers.
5. If those two or more than two party lists, to which one seat is to be allocated under the third or fourth paragraph of this article, receive an equal number of votes, the seat shall be awarded to the party list that was earlier registered for the elections with the CEC.
6. The candidates whose serial numbers on a party list are less than or equal to the number of seats acquired by the party list, shall be deemed to have been elected to the Sakrebulo through the proportional electoral system.
7. If a Sakrebulo candidate is elected both from a single-seat majoritarian district and through a party list, he/she shall be deemed to have been elected from the single-seat majoritarian electoral district, shall be removed from the party list, and the candidate shall be replaced in the list as provided for by this Law.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 163 - Registration of members elected to Tbilisi Sakrebulo
Within five days of the summarisation of the final results of the elections, the CEC shall register the members of the Tbilisi Sakrebulo and issue appropriate certificates to them certifying their election.
Article 164 - Procedure for replacement of a member who withdraws from the Tbilisi Sakrebulo
1. If the authority of a member of Tbilisi Sakrebulo elected through the proportional system terminates before its expiration, the candidate who received the next highest number of votes in the party list shall take his/her place in Sakrebulo within two weeks, if he/she accepts membership in the Sakrebulo within 10 days after being notified by the CEC. If no candidate appears in the party list, the seat shall be annulled.
2. If the Tbilisi Sakrebulo member who last held the vacant seat was elected through the party list of an electoral bloc and the party list indicated that he/she is a member of one of the parties in the electoral bloc, the next candidate for Sakrebulo membership on the same party list shall replace him/her within two weeks if, within ten days after the vacancy occurs, the new candidate consents to become a Tbilisi Sakrebulo member. Otherwise, the vacancy shall be filled by the next candidate on the same party list, etc. If the party list did not indicate that the Sakrebulo member who last held the vacant seat is a member of one of the parties in the electoral bloc, his/her successor shall be determined under the first paragraph of this article.
3. A successor of the withdrawn member of Tbilisi Sakrebulo elected through proportional system shall, within 10 days of having notified the CEC, consent to Sakrebulo membership. Otherwise, the vacancy will be filled by the candidate determined according to the second paragraph of this article. If no candidate appears in the party list, the seat shall be annulled.
4. If the term of office of a Tbilisi Sakrebulo member elected through the majoritarian electoral system terminates prematurely, a by-election shall be conducted as defined in this Law in the nearest May or October, provided that at least 60 days remain until the end of the respective month. By-elections shall not be held if less than one year remains until the term of office of the Sakrebulo expires.
5. The CEC shall set the date of by-elections by decree. The CEC shall set the time frames for election events by decree not later than the 50th day before Election Day.
6. Candidates, who have won the by-elections, shall take the places of withdrawn Tbilisi Sakrebulo members, elected through the majoritarian system for the remaining term of office of the Sakrebulo.
7. To run in Tbilisi Sakrebulo by-elections, the party/electoral bloc referred to in Article 142(1)(a) of this Law as well as the party registered for the last local self-government elections, shall apply to the CEC not later than the 47th day before Election Day. A party which fails to meet this condition shall apply to the CEC within the same time frame. Upon receipt of the application, the CEC shall give such party a sample form of a party supporter list to collect supporter signatures. An initiative group of voters shall apply to the CEC within the same time frame. The initiative group of voters, as well as the candidate nominated by such group shall be registered under Article 141(3) of this Law.
8. The party, the registration of which under the seventh paragraph of this article requires the presentation of the party supporter list, shall present to the CEC, not later than the 40th day before Election Day, the list of voters supporting the party to run in the Sakrebulo elections.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Chapter XVIII - Mayoral/Gamgebeli Elections of a Self-governing City/Community
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 165 - Mayoral/Gamgebeli Elections of a Self-governing City/Community
1. Mayoral/Gamgebeli elections of a self-governing city/community shall be held according to the norms established by this Law, unless otherwise provided for in this Chapter.
2. A Mayor/Gamgebeli of a self-governing city/community shall be elected by universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot.
Organic Law of Georgia No 1019 of 6 September 2013 – website, 23.9.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 166 – Electoral Districts
1. A self-governing unit shall constitute one electoral district for Mayoral/Gamgebeli elections.
2. For the election of the Mayor of the capital of Georgia – Tbilisi, Tbilisi shall be one electoral district comprising the electoral districts set up under Article 156(1) of this Law.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 167- Registering Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidates and determining their serial numbers
1. A citizen of Georgia from the age of 25 who has the right to vote and has resided in Georgia for at least five years, including permanently for the last two years until the day the elections are called, may be elected as a Mayor/Gamgebeli.
2. A party/electoral bloc registered under Article 142 of this Law may nominate a Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidate not later than the 30th day before polling day.
3. The incompatibility of the Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidate’s status with his/her office shall be determined under Article 136 of this Law. Article 117(5)(e) of this Law shall not apply to the incompatibility of the Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidate’s status with his/her office.
4. A party/an electoral bloc shall submit the documents of a Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidate to the respective DEC. The documents of the candidate for Mayor of Tbilisi shall be submitted to the CEC. The chairperson of the respective election commission shall examine the documents submitted for the registration of Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidates and within two days from the submission of documents but not later than the twenty-eighth day before Election Day:
a) register a candidate for Mayoral/Gamgebeli elections if the candidate’s registration documents meet the requirements defined by this Law;
b) notify the representative of the nominating party/electoral bloc in writing of the non-conformity (if any) of the data in the candidate’s registration documents with the requirements contained in this Law (specifying the details of the non-conformity); the representative of the party/electoral bloc shall be given two days to bring those documents in compliance with the requirements.
5. The corrected data referred to in paragraph (4)(b) of this article shall be checked and the decision whether to register the candidate shall be made within two days after the data are submitted.
6. If the corrected data conform to the requirements contained in this Law, the chairperson of the election commission concerned shall register the candidate for Mayoral/Gamgebeli elections. In the case of nonconformity, the chairperson of the election commission shall issue a decree denying registration for the election (the decree shall specify the reasons for denial of registration, as well as the requirements of those legal provisions which form the basis for the refusal). The decree shall be immediately communicated to the nominating electoral subject and delivered to it upon request.
7. Within three days after registration of a Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidate, the chairperson of the appropriate electoral commission shall hand him/her a candidate’s certificate.
8. A Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidate shall be registered if the following documents are submitted:
a) the candidate’s registration card
b) the application for nominating the candidate, signed by the heads of parties/electoral blocs
c) two photos.
9. The decision of a nominating electoral subject on nominating a Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidate shall be accompanied by a registration card indicating the candidate’s:
a) first name, last name
b) date of birth (day, month, year)
c) sex
d) address (according to a Georgian citizen’s identity card or the Agency database)
e) personal number of a citizen of Georgia
f) place of work (name of the institution, organisation, enterprise, etc.;
g) position; if unemployed, the word ‘unemployed’ shall be indicated
h) party affiliation; if he/she is not a party member, the word ‘nonpartisan’ shall be indicated
i) the fact that the candidate has permanently resided in Georgia for five years, including for the last two years
j) the candidate’s consent to run for Mayor of Tbilisi
k) signature and date of signature.
10. A Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidate shall not be registered based on the requirements of paragraphs 4-6 of this article, and the registration of an already registered candidate shall be cancelled by a decree of the chairperson of the respective DEC, or for the elections of the Mayor of Tbilisi, by a decree of the CEC chairperson (in the cases specified in subparagraphs a-c of this paragraph), or by a court decision (in the case specified in subparagraph d of this paragraph), if the applications and documents submitted to the election commission fail to meet all the requirements of this Law or if any other conditions referred to by this Law are not met, in particular:
a) if data in the applications and documents are incomplete or inaccurate;
b) if there is or was a Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidate’s consent to run simultaneously for Mayor/Gamgebeli in another self-governing unit and/or for anther Sakrebulo;
c) if the requirements under the third paragraph of this article are not met;
d) if the requirements under Article 47(1) and/or Article 48 of this Law are not met.
11. A Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidate shall be assigned the serial number of the nominating electoral subject.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 168 – Cancelling a decision to nominate a Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidate
1. A party/an electoral bloc may cancel its decision to nominate a Mayoral/Gamgebeli candidate after registration, but not later than the 10th day before polling day.
2. A candidate may withdraw from the elections not later than the 10th day before polling day by submitting the appropriate application with the respective DEC.
3. The rules referred to in the first and second paragraphs of this article shall not apply to the second round of elections.
4. The respective election commission shall immediately publish on the official CEC website information on a candidate’s registration, as well as information on cancellation of the decision to nominate a candidate.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 169 - Summarising the results of Mayoral/Gamgebeli elections
1. The results of Mayoral/Gamgebeli elections shall be verified and summarised by the respective DEC, and the results of the elections for Mayor of Tbilisi shall be summarised by the respective DECs and verified by the CEC.
2. A candidate who receives more than 50% of votes cast shall be deemed to have been elected Mayor/Gamgebeli. The number of votes cast in the elections shall not include the number of votes recorded on invalid ballot papers.
Organic Law of Georgia No 1019 of 6 September 2013 – website, 23.9.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 1691 - Second round of Mayoral/Gamgebeli elections and re-run elections
1. If a candidate fails to receive the necessary number of votes under Article 169 of this Law in the Mayoral/Gamgebeli elections, a second round of elections shall be called. The two candidates with the highest number of votes in the first round shall participate in the second round. If more than two candidates receive an equally high number of votes, or if several candidates following the top candidate receive an equal number of votes, all those candidates shall take part in the second round.
2. The CEC shall call the second round of Mayoral/Gamgebeli elections within three days after the expiry of the deadline for appealing a summary protocol of election results, provided the protocol is not appealed, but if the protocol is appealed, within three days after the court’s final decision enters into force, taking into account the court decision. The second round of elections shall be held not later than the 14th day after the CEC issues a decree on calling the second round.
3. The candidate who received the highest number of votes shall be deemed elected in the second round of the elections. If the candidates receive an equal number of votes, the candidate who received more votes in the first round shall be deemed elected. If the number of those votes is equal as well, the candidate who was registered earlier shall be deemed the winner.
4. If the registration of one or both of the candidates proceeding to the second round of elections is cancelled or if a candidate dies, re-run elections shall be held two months from the cancellation/death. The CEC shall fix the date of elections within three days after the above fact occurs.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 1692 - Mayoral/Gamgebeli Extraordinary elections
1. If a Mayor’s/Gamgebeli’s term of office terminates prematurely, the President of Georgia shall call extraordinary elections, with the Prime Minister’s countersignature, not earlier than the 8th, but not later than the 10th day after the early termination of the Mayor’s/Gamgebeli’s term of office. The elections shall be held not later than the 50th day after elections are called. The CEC shall set the time frames for election events by decree not later than the 49th day before Election Day.
2. If at the moment of an early termination of a Mayor’s/Gamgebeli’s term of office, less than one year remains before the general elections for local self-government bodies, no extraordinary Mayoral/Gamgebeli elections shall be held.
3. In extraordinary elections, a Mayor/Gamgebeli shall be elected for the remaining term of office of the Sakrebulo of the respective municipality.
4. To participate in extraordinary elections, a party/an electoral bloc referred to in Article 142(1)(a) of this Law, as well as a party registered for the last local self-government elections, shall apply to the CEC not later than the 47th day before Election Day. A party which fails to meet this condition shall apply to the CEC within the same time frame. Upon receipt of the application, the CEC shall give such party a sample form of supporters list to collect supporters’ signatures.
5. A party whose registration under the fourth paragraph of this article requires the presentation of a party supporters list, shall present to the CEC the list of voters supporting the party’s participation in the Mayoral/Gamgebeli elections not later than the 40th day before Election Day.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Chapter XIX - Referendum and Plebiscite
Article 170 - General provisions
The regulatory norms for organizing, conducting and ascertaining election results provided for by the first chapter of this Law shall be used during the organisation, conduct and summarisation of the results for a referendum unless otherwise determined by this chapter.
Article 171 - Conducting a referendum
1. The President of Georgia shall, upon the request of the Parliament of Georgia, the request of the Government of Georgia, the request of not less than 200 000 voters or on his/her own initiative, call a referendum within 30 days after the receipt of the request.
2. A Referendum cannot be held in the case of:
a) an armed attack on Georgia
b) martial law
c) public disorder, military takeover, armed rebellion, ecological disasters and epidemics or in other cases when state bodies are unable to duly apply their constitutional powers.
3. A Referendum cannot be appointed on the same issue within one year after the date when the results of a referendum conducted on the same issue were officially published.
4. Referenda shall be organized and held in the Georgian language in Georgia, and also in the Abkhazian language in Abkhazia.
Organic Law of Georgia No 1019 of 6 September 2013 – website, 23.9.2013
Article 172 - Referendum issues
1. A referendum can be held on especially important state issues, including issues and principles provided for by the Constitution of Georgia, Laws of Georgia, International Treaties and Agreements of Georgia.
2. Referenda cannot be held:
a) for adoption or repeal of a law;
b) for amnesty or pardon;
c) on ratification and denunciation of International Treaties and Agreements;
d) on issues that restrict the fundamental constitutional rights and freedoms of individuals.
Article 173 - Calling of a plebiscite and rules for its conduct
1. A plebiscite is a public opinion poll with the purpose of learning the opinion of the Georgian electorate or part of it, concerning particularly important state issues.
2. The Prime Minister of Georgia shall call a plebiscite.
3. The results of a plebiscite shall be recommendatory to state bodies.
4. The rules determined by this Law shall be applied to the conduct of a plebiscite except for provisions under Article 171.
Organic Law of Georgia No 1019 of 6 September 2013 – website, 23.9.2013
Article 174 - Appointment of a referendum
1. The President of Georgia shall call a referendum by an edict that shall be countersigned by the Prime Minister of Georgia, except when a referendum is called at the request of the Government of Georgia.
2. The CEC shall organize and hold a referendum.
Organic Law of Georgia No 1019 of 6 September 2013 – website, 23.9.2013
Article 175 - Initiative group for holding a referendum
1. If the initiative to hold a referendum comes from the voters, an initiative group shall be formed. The list of the initiative group shall include the first and last name and place of residence of each member of the group. An initiative group shall clearly and specifically formulate the issues proposed for the referendum.
2. An initiative group shall apply to the CEC with a request to register the issue to be submitted for the referendum by the initiative group. The issue should be formulated in agreement with the initiative group.
3. The CEC shall register the issue proposed for a referendum and the composition of the initiative group, and publish information about such registration and the address of the initiative group on its official website.
4. The issue proposed for a referendum shall be included in the papers of voter signatures.
5. A registration certificate shall be issued to the initiative group within a month after applying for registration. Registration may be denied if the requirements of this Law are not met.
6. An initiative group shall be authorised to appeal a registration denial to the corresponding district (city) court within five days after the decision. The court shall review the appeal and make a decision within five days, and that can be further appealed according to rules determined by Georgian legislation.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Article 176 - Rule and terms for collecting signatures
1. An initiative group shall start the collection of signatures from the day of receipt of the registration certificate.
2. Signatures shall be collected on a sample paper as determined by the CEC and agreed with the initiative group. Each such paper shall be signed by not more than 50 citizens; the signatories shall include their first and last name, date of birth, number of the personal identification card, address and the date of signature. A person responsible for collecting the signatures shall sign every paper filled out with the above data indicating his/her address. The signature of a person responsible for collecting the signatures shall be attested by a notary or by a local self-governing body.
Article 177 - Review of the results for collecting signatures
1. The completed signature pages shall be forwarded to the initiative group that will summarize information about the results of collecting signatures, and together with the signature pages will forward it to the CEC not later than three months from the date of receipt of the registration certificate.
2. The CEC shall inspect the submitted materials and if it decides that they meet the requirements of this Law, the CEC shall submit its report and the request of the initiative group to conduct a referendum to the President of Georgia not later than one month after receipt of the materials.
3. If a citizen signs a statement on holding a referendum two or more times, all of his/her signatures shall be deemed invalid.
Article 178 - Making decision with regard to the request on holding a referendum
1. The President of Georgia shall make one of the following decisions regarding the request for holding a referendum:
a) appoint a referendum date;
b) provide a well-grounded refusal to hold a referendum.
2. An edict of the President of Georgia regarding the appointment of a referendum date or the well-grounded refusal to hold a referendum shall be published within 30 days after the receipt of the request of the Parliament of Georgia/the Government of Georgia for holding a referendum, as well as after the receipt of the report referred to in Article 177 of this Law. The decree of the President of Georgia shall be countersigned by the Prime Minister of Georgia, except when a referendum is called at the request of the Government of Georgia.
3. An edict on holding a referendum shall specify the date of the referendum and the exact wording of the issue put up for referendum. The edict shall be published through the official press and other media for public availability within not later than three days after the issue of the decree.
4. The Government of Georgia shall, within seven days after the publication of the edict of the President of Georgia on appointment of a referendum date, adopt a resolution for the arrangement of the referendum, which shall determine the funding and other referendum-related issues.
Organic Law of Georgia No 1019 of 6 September 2013 – website, 23.9.2013
Article 179 - Terms for conducting a referendum
1. A referendum shall be held not earlier than two months and not later than six months from the date of a decision by the President of Georgia to hold the referendum.
2. In exceptional cases, the President of Georgia shall be authorised to define another date for holding a referendum.
Article 180 - Withdrawal of a request for holding a referendum
The Parliament of Georgia, the Government of Georgia, an initiative group of voters shall have the right to withdraw its request for holding a referendum before the President of Georgia makes a decision to hold the referendum.
Organic Law of Georgia No 1019 of 6 September 2013 – website, 23.9.2013
Article 181 - Election commissions
The CED, DECs, and PECs shall ensure the organisation and conduct of a referendum.
Article 182 - Participation of initiative group members in the work of referendum commissions
In case a referendum has been called at voter request, the initiative group shall be eligible to appoint its representative to the election commissions.
Article 183 - Summarising the referendum results and enforcement of the decision
1. A Referendum issue shall be deemed adopted if more than half of the referendum participants vote in favor of it. The number of votes cast in the election may not include the number of votes recorded on invalid ballot papers.
2. It is prohibited to make a decision on the referendum in the period between calling a referendum and publishing the referendum results.
3. The decision taken as a result of the referendum shall be enforced from the date of its publication; it shall have a legal force and is final. The results of a referendum have a direct effect.
4. Legislative and executive authorities of Georgia are obliged to harmonize Georgian legislation and other legal acts with the referendum results within one month.
5. A decision made as a result of the referendum may be changed or canceled only by holding another referendum.
6. The Constitutional Court of Georgia has the right to invalidate the referendum results under the procedures as provided for by the law.
Chapter XX - Transitional and Final Provisions
Article 184 - Verification of lists of voters for the Parliamentary Elections of 2012
1. The Commission for Verification of the List of Voters is an independent administrative body that, within the limits of its powers, is independent from other state bodies.
2. Representatives of government, opposition parties and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) shall compose the Commission based on the principle of equal representation. The Commission shall be composed of not less than 15 members.
3. The President of Georgia shall establish and define the composition of the Commission on the proposal of parties and NGOs.
4. The Commission staff, according to procedures determined by Commission Regulation, shall provide organisational-technical and informational support to the Commission for Verification of the Lists of Voters.
5. The chairperson, deputy chairperson and the secretary of the Commission shall be elected from the members of the Commission for Verification of the Lists of Voters. The Commission chairperson shall be elected from the members nominated by the opposition parties.
6. Rules of operation of the Commission for Verification of the Lists of Voters shall be defined under Commission Regulation, approved by the President of Georgia on recommendation of the Commission.
7. The Commission session shall be authorised if attended by a majority of the total number of members of the Commission. The Commission shall make its decision by a majority vote of members present at the session, but not less than one-third of the total number of members of the Commission. The Commission decision may be appealed to the Tbilisi City Court within ten days of its adoption (except for cases provided for by the eleventh paragraph of this article).
8. The Commission for Verification of the Lists of Voters shall provide verification of voter lists on the whole territory of Georgia through various means, including door-to-door verification.
9. The following activities shall be implemented for the purpose of conducting the 2012 Parliamentary elections:
a) for the purpose of verification of the unified list of voters for the 2012 Parliamentary Elections, the Ministry for Corrections and Legal Assistance of Georgia and the Special State Protection Service of Georgia, as well as the institutions referred to in Article 31(5)(a-c) of this Law about the persons with one suffrage as of 15 July 2012 and institutions listed in subparagraphs ‘f’ and ‘g’ of the same paragraph shall, within the terms determined by this paragraph, forward to the Commission for Verification of the Lists of Voters updated or most recent data on persons without the right to vote.
b) not later than 1 July 2012, the Ministries of Defense and Internal Affairs of Georgia shall submit to the Commission for Verification of the Lists of Voters and the CEC, data on conscript and contract military servicemen of the Georgian military (paramilitary) forces and units with suffrage, whose work conditions require their presence at an address different from their place of registration and that are located in a different electoral district;
c) on 15 July 2012, the Ministry for Corrections and Legal Assistance of Georgia shall submit to the Commission for Verification of the Lists of Voters data on individuals with suffrage having committed crimes of minor gravity;
d) the heads of consular offices of Georgia shall submit to the Commission for Verification of the Lists of Voters and the CEC data determined by Article 32(1)(e) of this Law not later than the 20th day prior to polling.
91. The list determined by the tenth paragraph of this article, based on amendments made within the time frame provided for by this Law, and under the decision of the Commission for Verification of the Lists of Voters, the box ‘actual condition’ next to the last name of a voter, whose presence abroad is confirmed by application of a person registered at the same address, shall include an entry ‘is abroad’. A voter, so determined by this paragraph, shall participate in polling according to the general procedure referred to by this Law.
92. The list determined by the tenth paragraph of this article, under the decision of the Commission for Verification of the Lists of Voters, shall include the following voters with the entry – ‘removed from the address of registration’:
a) whose residence at the registration address is not confirmed by application of a person registered at the same address;
b) whose registration was terminated by the legal entity under public Law within the Ministry for Justice of Georgia–State Services Development Agency.
93. Voters determined by paragraph 92 of this article shall vote according to their last place of registration during the 2012 Parliamentary Elections. Such voters shall be included in the lists of voters designated for election commissions and in public information, after arranging the lists in alphabetical order. Voters determined by this paragraph shall participate in elections held under the majoritarian, as well as the proportional electoral systems.
10. As provided for by this article (8-9), the Commission for Verification of the Lists of Voters shall ensure the verification and transmission of the lists of voters to the CEC prior to 1 August 2012. The list submitted to the CEC by the Commission is the unified list of voters for the parliamentary elections in 2012.
11. From 1 August 2012, not later than the 14th day prior to the elections, the Electoral Administration of Georgia shall immediately submit to the Commission for Verification of the Lists of Voters the applications filed with the Electoral Administration of Georgia on changes made to the lists of voters. The Commission is under a duty to adopt a relevant substantiated decision, within two calendar days of the submission of the application, regarding the application received from the Electoral Administration or filed directly with the Commission within the time frame referred to by this paragraph. The commission shall immediately notify the Electoral Administration on the above decision, based on which an appropriate DEC chairperson shall issue a relevant decree that may be appealed as defined in this Law (except for cases provided for by paragraph 111 of this article).
111. From 1 August 2012, a person interested in making an entry in the unified list of voters as provided for by this article(91 and 92) shall file an application with the Electoral Administration of Georgia not later than 1 September 2012. The Electoral Administration shall immediately submit the application to the Commission for Verification of the List of Voters. The Commission shall make a substantiated decision about the application received from the Electoral Administration or filed directly with the Commission within 14 calendar days after submission of the application and shall immediately notify the Electoral Administration thereof.
112. Members of the Commission for Verification of the Lists of Voters and heads of regional representative offices, not later than the 14th day before the elections, shall be authorised to conduct monitoring of the unified list of voters at any time based on the Commission decision, including on the polling day at the electoral precincts.
12. State agencies are obliged to cooperate with the Commission for Verification of the Lists of Voters in order to adjust the unified list of voters.
13. The activity of the Commission for Verification of the Lists of Voters shall be financed from the State Budget of Georgia.
14. Edict No 726 of 15 November 2011 concerning the Determination of the Establishment and Composition of the Commission for Verification of the Lists of Voters and edict No 791 of 5 December 2011 regarding the Approval of the Regulation of the Commission for Verification of the Lists of Voters, issued by the President of Georgia, shall remain in legal force.
15. The term of office of the Commission for Verification of Lists of Voters shall be defined as including 31 December 2012.
Organic Law of Georgia No 6571 of 28 June 2012– website, 28.6.2012
Article 1841 - Procedure for drawing up a unified list of voters for 2014 elections of a Sakrebulo, of a municipal Gamgebeli, of the Mayor of Tbilisi and Mayors of other self-governing cities
1. A unified list of voters is a list of the persons registered according to their place of residence, as well as of those who indicate their place of actual residence under the third paragraph of this article.
2. For the 2014 elections of a Sakrebulo, of a municipal Gamgebeli, of the Mayor of Tbilisi and Mayors of other self-governing cities, the unified list of voters shall include the following information about a voter:
a) first name, last name
b) date of birth (day, month, year)
c) address (according to a Georgian citizen’s identity card or the Agency database)
d) a Georgian citizen’s personal number
e) the place of actual residence (for IDPs from the occupied territories of Georgia or for individuals registered without an indication of address, for individuals removed from registration according to the place of residence, as well as for individuals whose registration has been declared invalid by decision of the Agency, a temporary place of residence shall be indicated; for individuals staying abroad, the word ‘on a consular registry’ shall be indicated, and, if such persons are not registered in a consular registry of Georgia, the word ‘staying abroad’ shall be indicated)
f) date of registration in the unified list of voters
g) photo (the latest digital photo available in the electronic database of the Agency)
h) sex.
3. To take part in the 2014 elections for local self-government bodies, a citizen of Georgia having the right to vote and registered without an indication of address, also an individual removed from registration according to their place of residence and an individual whose registration has been declared invalid by decision of the Agency, must apply to the Agency before 28 May 2014 and get registered according to their place of residence or indicate their place of actual residence and take a digital photo.
4. The unified list of voters shall be compiled according to the procedure provided for in Article 31 of this Law for the compilation of the unified list of voters based on the data on persons with active suffrage available (entered) in the Civil Registry of the Agency and the data forwarded by the institutions referred to in Article 31(5) of this Law.
5. To verify the data on eligible voters to be provided by the Agency to the CEC, the latest photo of each person with the right to vote in the electronic database of the Agency shall be compared, using an appropriate software (photo search system), with the latest photos of all persons with the right to vote in the same database. If any possibly duplicate identity data of natural persons are detected as a result of photo comparison, the Agency shall study the identification data individually and establish the valid data. If the Agency detects any wrong details, it shall act according to the legislation of Georgia.
6. Local self-government bodies shall immediately inform the Agency of any changes made to the names/numbers of streets and houses. LEPL National Agency of Public Registry shall provide the Agency, on a continuing basis, with information on the numbering of geographic facilities, the numbering of their complexes and parts located in the territory of Tbilisi.
7. The Agency shall provide the CEC with the information on eligible voters not later than 1 May 2014 as defined in this article, and if requested by the CEC, the Agency shall provide the above information, current as of the day of its provision, within 3 calendar days after the request, but not later than the 11th day before Election Day.
8. For the 2014 elections of local self-government bodies, the commander of the relevant military (paramilitary) unit shall provide the list of the persons specified in Article 32(1)(d) of this Law to the relevant DEC not later than 1 May 2014.
Organic Law of Georgia No 864 of 25 July 2013 - website, 19.8.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 1273 of 20 September 2013 - website, 2.10.2013
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 - website, 14.3.2014
Article 1842 - Procedure for the publicity of the unified list of voters for the 2014 elections for local self-government bodies
1. The public domain version of the unified list of voters without photos shall be posted at a conspicuous place in the PEC building within the time frame provided for by this Law.
2. The public domain version of the unified list of voters with photos shall be released to the person specified in Article 31(7) of this Law only in electronic form. To obtain the list, the authorised person shall submit to the relevant commission an electronic storage device of appropriate storage capacity.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 - website, 14.3.2014
Article 1843 – Deleted
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 - website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 2289 of 17 April 2014 - website, 17.4.2014
Article 185 - Transitional provisions
1. Legal acts adopted by the CEC before the effective date of this Law shall remain in legal force after the enactment of this Law.
2. The CEC shall ensure the harmonization of its legal acts with this Law within two months after the enactment of this Law.
3. The CEC shall ensure the implementation of this Law within six months after it is enacted.
Article 1851 - Suffrage during the transition period
1. Any person who is born and permanently lives for the most recent 5 years in Georgia, and by the time of enforcement of Article 1044 of the Constitution of Georgia, possesses citizenship of any member state of the European Union together with the citizenship of Georgia and from the relevant age, shall have the right to participate in Presidential and Parliamentary elections and to have the right of suffrage until 1 January 2014.
2. The rights and obligations of citizens of Georgia referred to in this Law and in the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Unions of Citizens shall apply fully to an individual determined in the first paragraph of this article.
3. An individual under this Law shall use a passport of a member state of the European Union instead of a passport and a personal identification card of a citizen Georgia as provided for by this Law.
4. The CEC/relevant DEC shall be authorised to register a person as a voter, who meets the requirements provided for in the first paragraph of this article. This person shall be registered in Georgia according to his/her actual place of residence based on the nomination by an administrative body or based on his/her own application.
Organic Law of Georgia No 6571 of 28 June 2012 – website, 28.6.2012
Organic Law of Georgia No 877 of 27 July 2013, website-20.8.2013
Article 1852 - Publicity of the military personnel list for the Presidential Elections in 2013
It is prohibited to give publicity to lists, determined by Articles 31(5)(d) and 32(1)(d) of this Law, of military servicemen of the Ministry for Defense of Georgia who participate in peacekeeping operations of the Armed Forces of Georgia and accompanying persons sent in a civilian personnel status (publication, copy, transmission, as well as photo and video recording in relevant precincts).
Organic Law of Georgia No 877 of 27 July 2013, website-20.8.2013
Article 1853 - Right to nominate a presidential candidate of Georgia for the Presidential Elections in 2013
A party that fails to register with the CEC and that wishes to nominate a presidential candidate for the Presidential Elections in 2013, in compliance with the requirements of Article 98 of this Law, shall file an application with the CEC Chairperson after which it will have the right to collect supporting signatures as determined by this Law. This shall allow the party to be registered as an electoral subject and to register its presidential nominee one time only for this election.
Organic Law of Georgia No 877 of 27 July 2013, website-20.8.2013
Article 1854 - Suffrage for the election of the President of Georgia on 27 October 2013
1. A voter who has been removed from registration according to his/her place of residence or whose registration has been invalidated under the agency’s decision shall vote for the President of Georgia on 27 October 2013 only in case he/she undergoes registration according to his/her place of residence within the period up to and including 10 October 2013. Such a voter shall be exempted from the payment of service fees for issuing a Georgian Citizen’s electronic identity card and for taking a photo (except for accelerated service fees) established under the Resolution No 508 of 29 December 2011 of the Government of Georgia On the approval of the time frames, amount of service fees, and the method of payment for services rendered by the Public Service Development Agency, a legal entity under public law operating under the governance of the Ministry for Justice of Georgia, and for services rendered by a consular official within the framework of delegated authority, if submission of both requests for the registration according to the place of residence and for issuance of an ID Card is established in compliance with the legislation of Georgia. A citizen of Georgia shall not be exempted from the payment of service fees for issuing a Georgian Citizen’s electronic identity card if he/she has been removed from the registration according to his/her last place of residence due to loss of his/her citizenship of Georgia, as well as termination of the validity of a residence permit or the expiration of the date for a temporary residence permit.
2. A voter determined by the first paragraph of this article who undergoes registration according to his/her place of residence within the period up to and including 10 October 2013, shall be exempted from liability for an administrative offence provided for by Article 185 of the Administrative Offences Code of Georgia, committed within the stated period.
Organic Law of Georgia No 901 of 29 July 2013, website-20.8.2013
Article 1855 - Procedure for the participation in elections of local self-government bodies of voters removed from registration according to the place of residence, or of those whose registration has been declared invalid by decision of the Agency or for those registered without an indication of address
1. To participate in the 2014 elections for local self-government bodies, voters who have been removed from registration according to their place of residence, or whose registration has been declared invalid by decision of the Agency or who have been registered without an indication of address shall appear at the Agency before 28 My 2014 and be registered according to their place of residence or only indicate their place of actual residence and take a digital photo. A voter who is registered according to their place of residence shall be exempted from payment of service fees for issuing a Georgian Citizen’s electronic identity card and for taking a photo (except for expedited service fees) required under Ordinance No 508 of 29 December 2011 of the Government of Georgia on the approval of the service time frames, amount of service fees, and the procedure for the payment for these services rendered by the LEPL Public Service Development Agency within the Ministry for Justice of Georgia, and for services rendered by a consular official within the delegated authority, if the submission of the request for the registration according to their place of residence together with the request for the issuance of an ID Card is required under the legislation of Georgia. A voter who only indicates his/her place of actual residence but does not get registered according to their place of residence, shall be exempted from payment of service fees for taking a photo and no identity card shall be issued to such voter. A voter shall not be exempted from service fees for issuing a Georgian Citizen’s electronic identity card if he/she has been removed from the registration according to his/her last place of residence due to his/her loss or renunciation of Georgian citizenship, termination of a residence permit or the expiration of a temporary residence permit.
2. The voter referred to in the first paragraph of this article who gets registered by 27 May 2014 (inclusive) according to the place of residence or indicates the place of his/her actual place of residence shall be released from liability provided for by Article 185 of the Administrative Offences Code of Georgia for the administrative offence provided for in that article.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 - website, 14.3.2014
Article 1856 – Implementing certain measures for the 2014 elections for local self-government bodies
For the 2014 elections for local self-government bodies:
a) the CEC shall ensure the setting up of electoral districts and establishment of their boundaries and publication of relevant information on its website, before 6 April 2014;
b) the CEC shall ensure the establishment of the boundaries of local single-seat majoritarian electoral districts of Tbilisi and other self-governing cities and publication of the relevant information on its website before 6 April 2014;
c) the DECs shall ensure, before 6 April 2014, the setting up of local majoritarian electoral districts taking into account the local single-seat majoritarian electoral districts set up by electoral commissions for the 2010 elections of local self-government bodies and the territorial changes made in self-governing units in 2014;
d) electoral precincts shall be created not later than 6 April 2014.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 - website, 14.3.2014
Article 1857 – Setting certain new time frames for the 2014 elections of local self-government bodies
1. During the 2014 elections of local self-government bodies, if the decision of the lower election commission/head of the lower election commission is appealed to the CEC, the CEC shall review the application/complaint as provided for by this Law within two calendar days after receiving the application/complaint and shall draw up a summary protocol of final results of the election not later than the 24th day after polling day.
2. Instead of the time frames defined in Article 116(3)(7) of this Law, the following time frames shall be set for the 2014 elections of local self-government bodies:
a) to nominate a Sakrebulo candidate, an initiative group of voters shall apply to the respective DEC not later than the 47th day before Election Day;
b) to register a Sakrebulo candidate, a representative of an initiative group of voters shall submit to the respective DEC the list of the voters who support the candidate, not later than the 40th day before Election Day.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 - website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 2289 of 17 April 2014 - website, 17.4.2014
Article 1858 – Registering for the 2014 regular elections of local self-government bodies a party that does not have a representative elected on its nomination or on the nomination of an electoral bloc (in which the party was united) to the Parliament of Georgia or a party that was not registered in the last parliamentary elections or that is not a qualified electoral subject
1. To obtain the right to participate in the 2014 regular elections for local self-government bodies, a party that does not have a representative elected on its nomination or on the nomination of an electoral bloc (in which the party was united) to the Parliament of Georgia or a party that was not registered in the last parliamentary elections or that is not a qualified electoral subject shall apply to the CEC not later than the 57th day before Election Day. Upon receipt of the application, the CEC shall give such party a sample form of party supporters list to collect supporters’ signatures.
2. The party referred to in the first paragraph of this article shall present to the CEC, not later than the 50th day before Election Day, the list of voters supporting the party’s participation in the elections for local self-government bodies.
3. Other matters related to the registration of a party shall be determined under Article 142 of this Law.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 - website, 14.3.2014
Article 1859 – Distributing free pre-election advertising time allocated by local broadcasters to electoral subjects during the 2014 regular elections for local self-government bodies
1. During the 2014 regular elections for local self-government bodies, the free pre-election advertising time specified in Article 51(61)(c) of this Law shall be apportioned among the subjects provided for in that article and among the parties financed from the State Budget of Georgia in 2013 under Article 56(1) of this Law and/or Article 39(11) of the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Associations of Citizens.
2. If the electoral subject defined in the first paragraph of this article acquires the right to obtain free pre-election advertising time on more than one basis specified by this Law, it shall be granted such time on one basis only.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 - website, 14.3.2014
Article 18510 – Funding representatives of electoral subjects during the 2014 regular elections for local self-government bodies
During the 2014 regular elections for local self-government bodies, an electoral bloc which does not include any qualified party but the total number of votes received by the parties united in the electoral bloc in the last parliamentary elections or in the last general elections for local self-government bodies conducted under the proportional system is 2% or more of the votes cast, shall receive GEL 100 for each electoral precinct and GEL 150 for each electoral district to provide representatives to DECs and PECs on Election Day.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 - website, 14.3.2014
Article 18511 – Suffrage for legally incompetent persons
Persons who were declared legally incompetent by the court before 1 April 2015 and who have been placed in an inpatient facility shall have no right to participate in elections, referenda and plebiscites.
Organic Law of Georgia No 3402 of 20 March 2015 - website, 31.3.2015
Article 186 - Final provisions
1. The Organic Law of Georgia ‘Election Code of Georgia’ (Legislative Herald of Georgia (Sakartvelos Sakanonmdeblo Matsne) No 25, 22.8.2001, Art. 107) shall become invalid immediately after the enactment of this Law.
2. This Law shall enter into force upon promulgation.
President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili
Tbilisi
27 December 2011
N5636-ES
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