ELECTION CODE OF GEORGIA

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
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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 elections of the President of Georgia, the Parliament of Georgia, a municipality representative body Sakrebulo, a municipality executive body – a Mayor, and those connected with preparation and conduct of referenda and plebiscites. This Law establishes the rights and guarantees of election participants, the procedure for ensuring the lawfulness and transparency of expenses related to elections/referenda, for the establishment of the Electoral Administration of Georgia and its powers; and, where so provided for by this Law, the procedure for resolving disputes and imposing liability.

Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014

Organic Law of Georgia No 1232 of 26 July 2017 – website, 29.7.2017

Organic Law of Georgia No 6723 of 2 July 2020 – website, 3.7.2020

Article 2 – Definition of terms

For the purposes of this Law, the terms used herein have the following meaning s :

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 recommendat ory 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 the 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 – the voting conducted again in an electoral precinct (precincts) where polling results have been declared void;

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;

i¹) electoral/referendum period – a period of time from the day when a legal act issued on calling an election/referendum comes into force through the day when a summary protocol of the final results of the election/referendum is published by a respective election commission.

j) elections held under the proportional electoral system – election of members of the Parliament (MPs) of Georgia and of members of a municipality representative body Sakrebulo based on party lists;

k) elections held under the majoritarian electoral system – election of members of a municipality representative body Sakrebulo according to single-seat majoritarian 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;

n¹) votes of participants in the elections/referendum – the number of votes to be determined by the sum of valid ballot papers in a ballot box/boxes and which does not include votes received through ballot papers declared void.

o) electoral registration – registration by the chairperson of an appropriate election commission of parties, initiative groups of voters, party lists, and individual candidates for Mayor and Sakrebulo nominated under the majoritarian procedure 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, an initiative group of voters, a candidate for member of public authority representative body, or a candidate for public official registered by the chairperson of an appropriate election commission;

q¹) (Deleted – 2.7.2020, No 6723);

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 association of citizens acting under the Organic Law of Georgia on Political Associations of Citizens that is registered by the chairperson of the CEC to run in elections;

t¹) (Deleted – 2.7.2020, No 6723);

u) (Deleted – 21.7.2018, No 3266);

v) candidate for President of Georgia – a citizen of Georgia registered by the CEC, and nominated by not less than 30 members of the Election Panel for participation in Presidential elections of Georgia;

w) candidate for Mayor– a citizen of Georgia registered by the chairperson of the relevant election commission to run for Mayor;

x) candidate nominated under a party list – a citizen of Georgia entered in a party list registered by the chairperson of the respective election commission to run in elections of the Parliament of Georgia or for a municipality representative body Sakrebulo;

y) majoritarian candidate – a citizen of Georgia nominated in an electoral district by a party/initiative group of voters registered by the chairperson of an appropriate election commission to participate in elections of a municipality representative body Sakrebulo;

z) electoral district – an operation area (administrative electoral division) where elections and referenda are organised and held;

z₁) (Deleted – 21.7.2018, No 3266;

z₂) local majoritarian electoral district – a single-seat electoral district established for the election of the members of a municipality 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) municipality representative body Sakrebulo – the Sakrebulo of the capital of Georgia – Tbilisi, the Sakrebulo of a self-governing community, and the Sakrebulo of a self-governing city;

z₄¹) municipality executive body – a Mayor;

z₅) political official – the President of Georgia, a Member of Parliament 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, a member of a municipality representative body Sakrebulo and the executive body – a Mayor, and a State Representative;

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 and legal 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 – an application, complaint, letter, protocol, ballot paper, special envelope, a legislative act of the Electoral Administration of Georgia, a check-list, registration book, list of voters, voter invitation card, or a statement of a member of an election commission incoming and outgoing at an election commission;

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 or any other material on which an electoral subject/candidate for electoral subject and/or his/her sequence number is displayed;

z₁₅) Agency – the Legal Entity under Public Law (LEPL) – the Public Service Development Agency within the Ministry of Justice of Georgia;

z¹⁶) Beneficiary of support – persons defined under Article 12(4-5) of the Civil Code of Georgia;

z¹⁷) polling station – a building or a part of a building where a polling room of a PEC is located;

z¹⁸) photocopy – a copy made by means of a photocopier;

z¹⁹) Election Panel – a special body consisting of 300 members approved under an ordinance of the CEC, in order to elect President 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

Organic Law of Georgia No 5438 of 22 June 2016 – website, 12.7.2016

Organic Law of Georgia No 1232 of 26 July 2017 – website, 29.7.2017

Organic Law of Georgia No 1274 of 26 July 2017 – website, 29.7.2017

Organic Law of Georgia No 3269 of 21 July 2018 – website, 27.7.2018

Organic Law of Georgia No 3266 of 21 July 2018 – website, 13.8.2018

Organic Law of Georgia No 6723 of 2 July 2020 – website, 3.7.2020

Organic Law of Georgia No 6854 of 15 July 2020 – website, 28.7.2020

Organic Law of Georgia No 6855 of 15 July 2020 – website, 28.7.2020

Article 3 – Basic principles for holding elections, referend a , and plebiscite s

Basic principles for holding elections, referend a , and plebiscite s in Georgia shall be:

a) universal suffrage to participate in elections/referend a /plebiscite s :

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) all citizens of Georgia who meet the conditions determined by this Law, except for persons whose passive suffrage have been restricted under the Constitution of Georgia, this Law, the Law of Georgia on Combating Drug-related Crimes, and the Law of Georgia on Combating Crimes against Sexual Freedom and Inviolability shall have passive suffrage;

a.c) a citizen of Georgia who, by a court judgment, is placed in a penitentiary facility for an extremely serious crime, or, by a court decision, is recognised as a beneficiary of support and is placed in an appropriate inpatient medical facility under, may not participate in an election, referendum and plebiscite;

b) equal suffrage:

b.a) voters shall participate in elections, referend a, and plebiscite s 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) an MP of Georgia, a member of the Sakrebulo of a self-governing city/self-governing community, and a Mayor of a self-governing city/self-governing community shall be elected directly by voters;

c.c) President of Georgia shall be elected by the Election Panel by open ballot without-debate voting;

d) secrecy of ballot and free expression of the will of voters:

d.a) an election, a referendum, and a plebiscite in Georgia shall be held by secret ballot, except for Presidential elections of Georgia;

d.b) coercion and/or intimidation of voters and violation of the secrecy of voting shall be prohibited. Such action shall result in criminal liability of a violator.

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

Organic Law of Georgia No 1232 of 26 July 2017 – website, 29.7.2017

Organic Law of Georgia No 3127 of 5 July 2018 – website, 11.7.2018

Organic Law of Georgia No 3266 of 21 July 2018 – website, 13.8.2018

Organic Law of Georgia No 5772 of 17 March 2020 – website, 23.3.2020

Organic Law of Georgia No 7097 of 3 September 2020 – website, 4.9.2020

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 municipality bodies shall be open and public.

Organic Law of Georgia No 6854 of 15 July 2020 – website, 28.7.2020

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. Words ‘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 N^th day from the given day’ shall imply the beginning of counting from the day following the indicated day.

3. Words ‘N days before the given day’, ‘not earlier/not later than N days before the given day’, ‘not earlier/not later than the N^th day before the given day’ shall imply the beginning of counting from the day preceding the indicated day.

4. Unless otherwise determined by this Law, the initial time limits for the arrangements and procedures related to the elections/referendum to be conducted shall be counted from the day when the legal act on fixing the elections/referendum becomes effective.

Organic Law of Georgia No 3269 of 21 July 2018 – website, 27.7.2018

Article 6 – Announcement of an election/referendum/plebiscite day as a day off

Elections/referenda/plebiscites may be held on any day of the week. The day of a general election/referendum/plebiscite shall be a day off. The day of a by-election/extraordinary election of a municipal representative body/extraordinary election of a municipal executive body shall be a day off only within the jurisdiction of a respective electoral district/electoral districts.

Organic Law of Georgia No 1274 of 26 July 2017 – website, 29.7.2017

Organic Law of Georgia No 6723 of 2 July 2020 – website, 3.7.2020

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 of the Supreme Council of Ajara are held simultaneously, DECs and PECs formed for general elections shall perform the duties of DECs and PECs.

5. The staff of the CEC and the SEC (except for persons employed under labour contracts) shall be public servants and the Law of Georgia on Public Service shall apply to them.

Organic Law of Georgia No 4392 of 27 October 2015 – website, 11.11.2015

Organic Law of Georgia No 168 of 21 December 2016 – website, 28.12.2016

Article 8 – Election commission rules of operation

1. The rules of operation for an election commission shall be defined by this Law and the regulations of a respective commission to be adopted by the CEC, by a decree.

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 duly constituted if attended by a majority of the total number of the election commission members.

3¹. The total number of the election commission members shall be the sum of the number of commission members elected in accordance with this Law and the number of commission members appointed by the parties that have acquired the right to appoint a member of the election commission under this Law.

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-third s 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 a session of the election commission by a majority vote of the total number of the commission members, unless otherwise established by this Law.

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 not consider an application/complaint if the chairperson of an election commission has issued an ordinance on dismissing the application/complaint without prejudice.

14. Electoral documents shall be available to everyone, except as provided for by the legislation of Georgia. An election commission shall make the electoral documents and election information available to all interested persons within two days after such a request, and if more time is required to prepare the above information, an election commission shall make it available under the procedure established by the General Administrative Code of Georgia. When copies of the electoral documents and election information are requested, the fee and the payment procedure shall be regulated according to the legislation of Georgia.

15. A sessions of an election commission shall be open. It may be attended only by members of a superior election commission and commission representatives, staff members of a respective and superior election commissions, representatives of media accredited in the respective commission, one representative of electoral subjects in a respective commission, one observer from a domestic observer organisation registered with the respective commission, no more than two observers from an international organisation registered with the CEC together with an interpreter. In case of obstructing the work of an election commission and disturbing the peace, the decision on the issue of expelling a troublemaker (including a member of the commission) from the session of the election commission shall be made by the election commission, which shall be recorded in the minutes of the session. Expulsion of a troublemaker from the session of the election commission shall also imply his/her expulsion from the building of the election commission/polling station. The decision on the issue of expelling the troublemaker from the building of the election commission shall be made by the chairperson of a respective election commission by an ordinance.

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) a representative of an electoral subject registered with a respective PEC;

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 case of obstructing the work of an election commission and disturbing the peace, the decision on the issue of expelling a troublemaker from the administrative building shall be made by the chairperson of the commission by an ordinance, and during a session, the decision on the issue of expelling a troublemaker from the session shall be made by the election commission, which shall be recorded in the minutes of the session.

18¹. If in the case of making a decision on expulsion of a person from an election commission session, a commission building, a polling station in accordance with the rules established by this Law, this person does not voluntarily comply with the decision, the chairperson of the commission shall apply to the police. The police shall immediately enforce the decision to expel the person.

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 is 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. In the case of dissenting opinion, the DEC or PEC member is obliged to sign the summary protocol of the voting results in the appropriate section for the signature of the commission member.

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. If the election commission chairperson is absent or by order of the chairperson, a deputy chairperson shall act for him/her; in the CEC, a deputy chairperson of the CEC that has been elected on the basis of Article 11(2) of this Law shall act for the chairperson, and if he/she is absent, a deputy that has been elected on the basis of Article 11(1) of this Law shall act for him/her.

25. A person authorised to be at a polling station, as well as a person authorised to attend a session of a commission, shall have the right to photograph and video film, except in a polling booth, without obstructing the electoral process/the work of the election commission session. It is prohibited to photograph and video film or otherwise process the information or data that, according to this Law, is not/are not considered as public information, except when the photographing and video filming or processing is allowed by this Law.

Organic Law of Georgia No 1274 of 26 July 2017 – website, 29.7.2017

Organic Law of Georgia No 3269 of 21 July 2018 – website, 27.7.2018

Organic Law of Georgia No 6723 of 2 July 2020 – website, 3.7.2020

Organic Law of Georgia No 703 of 28 June 2021 – website, 29.6.2021

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) called the Centre for Electoral Systems Development, Reforms, and Trainings shall receive double remuneration.

1¹. During by-elections, double remuneration under paragraph 1 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 shall receive remuneration from the funds allocated for holding elections, from the 30^th day before Election Day until a summary protocol of polling results of the higher DEC is drawn up.

3. The amount of remuneration of the head officers and members of the CEC, DECs and PECs, and of the CEC staff members shall be determined by the CEC in accordance with the Law of Georgia on Remuneration in Public Institutions.

4. For a temporary DEC member, a member of the DEC auxiliary or technical staff, or a PEC member, who:

a) is entered into the Integrated Database of Socially Vulnerable Families, the remuneration 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.

5. Remuneration of the CEC and DEC staff members, training centre staff members, PEC support and technical staff members, the DEC temporary and the PEC staff members and representatives of electoral subjects shall not be subject to the payment of pension contribution as provided for by the Law of Georgia on Funded Pensions.

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

Organic Law of Georgia No 1836 of 22 December 2017 – website, 29.12.2017

Organic Law of Georgia No 6723 of 2 July 2020 – website, 3.7.2020

Organic Law of Georgia No 703 of 28 June 2021 – website, 29.6.2021

Article 10 – Composition of the CEC and procedures for electing the CEC Chairperson

1. The CEC shall be composed of not more than 17 members. Among them shall be the CEC Chairperson, two deputies of the CEC Chairperson and the CEC Secretary. The CEC Chairperson shall at the same time be a member of the CEC. Termination of the powers of the CEC Chairperson shall concurrently result in the termination of his/her membership. The Parliament of Georgia shall elect 7 members of the CEC, upon recommendation of the President of Georgia, while the parties shall appoint not more than 9 members of the CEC under the procedure established by this Law.

2. The President of Georgia shall, under the procedure established by this article and Article 12 of this Law, select and nominate to the Parliament of Georgia the candidates for the CEC Chairperson.

3. The CEC Chairperson shall be elected by the Parliament of Georgia under the procedure established by the rules of procedure of the Parliament of Georgia, upon recommendation of the President of Georgia. If the CEC Chairperson is elected by a majority of at least two thirds of the total members of the Parliament of Georgia, his/her term of office shall be five years; otherwise, his/her term of office shall be six months. If the new CEC Chairperson is not elected before the terms of office of the current CEC Chairperson expires, the terms of office of the current CEC Chairperson shall be extended until the new CEC Chairperson is elected.

4. A candidate for the CEC Chairperson may be a legally competent citizen of Georgia from the age of 25, who is non-partisan, has higher education, is fluent in the official language of Georgia, meets the requirements of Article 12(5)(b-f) of this Law, this paragraph, and Article 27(2) of the Law of Georgia on Public Service, and has at least 5 years’ working experience.

5. A resolution of the Parliament of Georgia on electing the CEC Chairperson shall be submitted to the CEC within seven days after it is received.

Organic Law of Georgia No 4392 of 27 October 2015 – website, 11.11.2015

Organic Law of Georgia No 168 of 21 December 2016 – website, 28.12.2016

Organic Law of Georgia No 1274 of 26 July 2017 – website, 29.7.2017

Organic Law of Georgia No 703 of 28 June 2021 – website, 29.6.2021

Organic Law of Georgia No 1348 of 30 December 2021 – website, 6.1.2022

Article 11 – Procedure for electing deputies of the CEC Chairperson and the CEC Secretary

1. One deputy of the CEC Chairperson and the CEC Secretary must be elected from among the CEC members elected by the Parliament if Georgia. At least 2 members of the CEC shall have the right to nominate the candidates for Deputy Chairperson of the CEC and the Secretary of the CEC. One and the same candidate may be nominated only twice.

2. One deputy of the CEC Chairperson must be elected from among the CEC members appointed by the parties provided for by Article 13 of this Law, who are not members of the parliamentary majority. A candidate shall be nominated by a majority decision of the CEC members appointed by the parties defined by this paragraph. If none of the candidates is supported by the aforementioned majority, the candidate shall be identified by casting lots among the CEC members appointed by the parties defined by this paragraph that will express their willingness to be elected as a deputy of the CEC Chairperson. A candidate shall be deemed elected as a deputy of the CEC Chairperson if he/she is supported by a majority of the total number of the CEC members. If the candidate fails to be supported by the aforementioned majority, a repeat voting shall be conducted. The candidate shall be deemed elected as a result of this voting if he/she is supported by at least one third of the total number of the CEC members. If the deputy of the CEC Chairperson is not elected under this paragraph, his/her election procedure shall start from the beginning.

3. If the Deputy Chairperson of the CEC or the Secretary of the CEC provided for by paragraph 1 of this article fails to be elected, his/her duties until the election of the aforementioned official shall be performed by a CEC member that has received the most votes during elections, and in the case of an equal number of votes, a person identified as a result of casting lots shall perform the duties of the Deputy Chairperson of the CEC and the Secretary of the CEC.

Organic Law of Georgia No 703 of 28 June 2021 – website, 29.6.2021

Article 12 – Procedure for electing the CEC members

1. The President of Georgia shall select candidates for CEC membership under the procedure established by this article and submit them to the Parliament of Georgia. The term of office of the CEC members elected by the Parliament of Georgia shall be 5 years, unless otherwise established by this article.

2. A candidate for CEC membership shall be selected on an open competition basis.

3. The President of Georgia shall, not later than 30 days before the term of office of a CEC member expires, and if a vacant position occurs, not later than 15 days from its occurrence, issue a decree on holding a competition and setting up a competition commission. The competition commission shall be composed of not less than 9 and not more than 11 members. The competition commission may be comprised of the representatives of those entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities registered only in Georgia that have at least 7 years’ experience of working in the field of elections, or protection of democracy or human rights, and whose activities, both financial and content-wise, are publicly available; and the representatives of higher educational institutions that hold elective academic ranks. The competition documents shall be submitted not later than 14 days after the competition is announced. If the above timeframe 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. The competition commission shall make a decision by a majority of the total number of members.

4. A candidate for the CEC membership may be a legally competent citizen of Georgia from the age of 25, who is non-partisan, has not been a member appointed by a party to the election commission, an electoral subject or its representative within the last 5 years, who has higher education, is fluent in the official language of Georgia, meets the requirements of Article 27(2) of the Law of Georgia on Public Service, has at least 5 years’ work experience, 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 for violating the electoral legislation of Georgia, – for four years after the day of his/her dismissal;

c) a person who has been recognised as an administrative offender by court for violation of the electoral legislation of Georgia, – for four years after the entry into legal force of the court decision;

d) a person with previous conviction;

e) an electoral subject/a candidate for electoral subject, or its representative;

f) an observer.

6. If at least twice as many candidates as the number of CEC members to be elected are not nominated within a period defined by this Law, the competition shall be continued for the period during which at least twice as many candidates as the number of the CEC members to be elected are nominated.

7. The list of candidates for the CEC membership with their biographies shall be published within two days after the time limit for nominating candidates expires.

8. A competition commission shall, not later than 5 days after the period for nominating candidates expires, nominate to the President of Georgia for nomination to the Parliament of Georgia for election at least twice as many and not more than three times as many candidates as the number of CEC members to be elected. Voting results of all the candidates participating in the competition and the reasons of the competition commission members for supporting a candidate or refusing to support him/her shall be indicated in the records of a session of the competition commission, which is public. The President of Georgia shall, not later than 7 days after the candidates are selected, make a decision on selecting the candidates for the CEC membership or refusing to select them. If the candidates are selected, the President of Georgia shall nominate to the Parliament of Georgia for election twice as many candidates as the number of the CEC members to be elected. If the President of Georgia fails to select candidates, he/she shall announce another competition.

9. The Parliament of Georgia shall elect CEC members under the procedure established by the rules of procedure of the Parliament of Georgia not later than 14 days after the President of Georgia submits candidates for the CEC membership to the Parliament of Georgia.

10. One and the same candidate for election to a vacant position of a CEC member may be nominated only twice.

11. The term of office of a CEC member who is elected by less than two thirds of votes of the total number of members of the Parliament of Georgia shall be 6 months.

11¹. If a new CEC member is not elected before the term of office of a current CEC member expires, the term of office of the current CEC member shall be extended until a new CEC member id elected.

12. A resolution of the Parliament of Georgia on electing a CEC member shall be submitted to the CEC within 7 days after it is made.

Organic Law of Georgia No 4392 of 27 October 2015 – website, 11.11.2015

Organic Law of Georgia No 5438 of 22 June 2016 – website, 12.7.2016

Organic Law of Georgia No 168 of 21 December 2016 – website, 28.12.2016

Organic Law of Georgia No 3269 of 21 July 2018 – website, 27.7.2018

Organic Law of Georgia No 3907 of 6 December 2018 – website, 14.12.2018

Organic Law of Georgia No 703 of 28 June 2021 – website, 29.6.2021

Organic Law of Georgia No 1348 of 30 December 2021 – website, 6.1.2022

Article 13 – Procedure for appointing CEC members and terminating their term of office by parties

1. A party shall have the right to appoint one CEC member if the party was registered by the CEC Chairperson for participation in the Georgian Parliamentary Elections, and it was granted a mandate of a member of the Parliament of Georgia under Article 125(4), (5) and (9) of this Law.

2. If the number of parties provided for by paragraph 1 of this article is more than 9, at the time of appointing a CEC member, the priority shall be given to a party that has received more votes in the Georgian Parliamentary Elections.

3. If the parties have received the equal number of votes in the Georgian Parliamentary Elections, at the time of appointing a CEC member, the priority shall be given to a party that has passed the electoral registration earlier.

4. A party shall have the right to withdraw a CEC member it has appointed. He/she may not be withdrawn from calling elections until the final results of the elections in question are summed up. A party shall have the right to appoint a new CEC member within the aforementioned period of time only when an appointed member resigns or dies.

Organic Law of Georgia No 877 of 27 July 2013 – website, 20.8.2013

Organic Law of Georgia No 5438 of 22 June 2016 – website, 12.7.2016

Organic Law of Georgia No 1274 of 26 July 2017 – website, 29.7.2017

Organic Law of Georgia No 3266 of 21 July 2018 – website, 13.8.2018

Organic Law of Georgia No 7097 of 3 September 2020 – website, 4.9.2020

Organic Law of Georgia No 7098 of 3 September 2020 – website, 4.9.2020

Organic Law of Georgia No 704 of 28 June 2021 – website, 29.6.2021

Organic Law of Georgia No 703 of 28 June 2021 – website, 29.6.2021

Article 14 – Powers of the CEC

1. The CEC shall:

a) ensure, within the scope of its powers, holding of an election, a referendum, and a plebiscite, oversee the process of implementation of the electoral legislation throughout the territory of Georgia, and ensure its uniform application;

b) adopt, by a decree, the regulations of the Electoral Administration;

b¹) determine, by a decree, issues related to labour relations and work incompatibility of CEC members and elected members of a DEC;

b²) ensure, within the scope of its powers, holding of regular, re-run and extraordinary elections of the President of Georgia;

c) have, in exceptional cases, if it is impossible to meet certain requirements/terms defined in this Law, the right to determine, by a decree, electoral events and timeframes for upcoming elections/polling, and to submit a proposal, if necessary, to the President of Georgia for fixing another date of elections according to this Law;

d) define, by an ordinance, the conditions and procedures for giving appropriate information to accused/convicted persons eligible to vote in penitentiary institution s;

e) establish, by an ordinance, electoral districts and/or specify their boundaries, as determined under this Law;

f) have, where necessary to solve the issues defined by this Law, the right to create a special group by an ordinance adopted by at least two-thirds of the total number of members, define the powers and the term of the group;

g) have, if any lower election commission does not or cannot fulfil the obligations under the legislation of Georgia, the right to terminate the powers of the commission by ordinance 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) define, by an ordinance, a schedule for electoral events according to the timeframes defined by this Law;

i) call, by an ordinance, extraordinary elections, re-run elections, by-elections, repeat voting, and second round of elections;

j) verify, on its own initiative or based on an application/complaint, under the procedure determined in this Law for resolution of electoral disputes, 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 ordinance; decide, by an ordinance, 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;

j¹) define, by an ordinance, the quota of members to be nominated by political parties in the Election Panel;

j²) approve, by an ordinance, members of the Election Panel under the procedure established by the Constitution of Georgia and this Law;

j³) register, by an ordinance, a candidate for President of Georgia;

k) based on summary protocols of polling results of DECs and PECs, considering the final decision of the court about violations of the electoral legislation of Georgia, determine results of elections of the Parliament of Georgia (under party lists), elections of Tbilisi Sakrebulo held under the proportional election system, elections of the Mayor of Tbilisi, and of a referendum/plebiscite, on which a CEC summary protocol of the election results shall be drawn up;

k¹) determine results of the Presidential elections of Georgia, on which a CEC summary protocol of the Georgian Presidential Election results shall be drawn up;

l) grant, by an ordinance, an election/referendum/plebiscite the status of observer 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 a decree, the procedure for distributing and utilizing state funds allocated for holding an election, referendum, and plebiscite;

m¹) define, by an ordinance, the number of auxiliary and technical personnel for the DECs and the minimal and maximal amounts of their official salaries;

m²) approve, by a decree, the statute of the CEC advisory group;

n) determine, by an ordinance, 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 a referendum/plebiscite; 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 a decree, 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 Centre for Electoral Systems Development, Reforms, and Training;

u) consider election-related applications and complaints under the procedure established by this Law, and make an appropriate decision within its authority, including, when there is an appropriate ground for it, make a decision to dismiss an application/complaint without prejudice;

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 a decree, an additional rule for making a unified list of voters and polling procedures;

w¹) be authorised to determine, by a decree, conditions and procedures for the submission of applications via electronic means by electoral subjects, observer organisations and observers appointed by such observer organisations, representatives of media and mass media, for the conduct of election registration/accreditation, the submission of applications by representatives of parties/electoral subjects via electronic means for the appointment of the commission members and representatives, and other matters related to the election procedures except for those related to the polling day;

x) approve, by an ordinance, upon recommendation of the CEC Chairperson, a staff list and a cost estimate;

x¹) establish, by an ordinance, the procedure for using and fuelling vehicles in private possession by employees of the Elections Administration of Georgia and Legal Entity under Public Law called the Centre of Electoral Systems Development, Reforms and Trainings;

y) approve, by a decree, the procedures and conditions for special training of PEC members;

y¹) determine, by a decree, conditions for the premature exoneration of DEC and PEC members from a disciplinary liability;

z) determine, by an ordinance, the form for reporting on expenses related to DEC elections/referenda;

z₁) maintain the database on 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;

z₁¹) maintain the database of persons holding certificates (of an Electoral Administration officer, a PEC member, or the head of a PEC), which is processed in accordance with the requirements established by the Law of Georgia on Personal Data Protection;

z₂) approve, by a decree, the regulations of the LEPL – Centre for Electoral Systems Development, Reforms, and Trainings;

z₃) adopt, by a decree, the Code of Ethics for the Electoral Administration officers;

z₄) approve, by an ordinance, a budget statement of the Electoral Administration of Georgia for the next year;

z₅) approve, by an ordinance, strategic and annual action plans of the Electoral Administration of Georgia;

z₆) determine, by an ordinance, the conditions and procedure for holding of elections in the Armed Forces units of Georgia dislocated abroad;

z₆¹) approve, by a decree, the additional procedure for completing and checking the list of supporters;

z₆²) elect, by an ordinance, representatives of the CEC and define their powers;

z₆³) when different elections are held at the same time, determine, by an ordinance, the additional procedure and time limits for defining the sequence number of an electoral subject;

z₆⁴) not later than the 57^th day before the Georgian Parliamentary Election day, define, by an ordinance, the list of facilities having the right to conduct drug testing;

z₇) determine, by an ordinance, a minimum number of signatures of supporters for the candidates nominated by an initiative group of voters;

z₇¹) determine, by an ordinance, members of the Election Panel, who are nominated by respective political parties from among the members of municipality representative bodies according to the quota determined by this Law;

z₇²) exercise other powers vested by this Law.

2. All CEC decrees shall be published in the Legislative Herald of Georgia (‘Sakartvelos Sakanonmdeblo Matsne’) and may also be published through other media. A CEC ordinance 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 shall also be authorised to adopt a decree 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

Organic Law of Georgia No 4392 of 27 October 2015 – website, 11.11.2015

Organic Law of Georgia No 4706 of 23 December 2015 – website, 8.1.2016