At 14:00pm, GYLA is in the process of Election Day observation. By now majority of violations are of procedural nature. By now, GYLA observers have lodged total 39 complaints at the precinct, 29 at the district level and submitted 21 remarks to the logbooks.
Our observers are currently verifying the information regarding the ballot staffing at the precinct #94 of the Zugdidi district;
The car, which departed from the precinct #17 in Akhaltsikhe district along with the mobile ballot box, has the electoral poster with “48” on it;
At the precinct #96 of the Gori district, voter has damaged the voters’ table list. The voter demanded to be allowed to participate in the elections instead of their offspring, which was refused by the precinct election commission in accordance with the law. The frustrated voter then damaged the table list;
At the precinct #18 of the Marneuli district, the queue regulator did not properly check the ID cards, due to which four voters participated in the elections with expired ID cards. GYLA observer has lodged a complaint on this fact;
At the precinct #3 of the Kutaisi district, a voter casted a ballot without the inking. GYLA observer has lodged a complaint;
At the precinct #59 of the Kutaisi district, the control sheet was placed in the box, without the fill-out of the name, surname and personal number of the first voter. GYLA observer lodged the complaint;
At the precinct #5 of the Nadzaladevi district, part of voters that depart the polling station first go to the car standing outside the polling station and only after a few minutes, leave the territory of the polling station. It is unclear what is the purpose of visiting the car, specifically. One of the persons in the car has the observer badge of the local observer organization “Union 21st Century”;
At the precinct #13 of the Vake district, the observer of the local observer organization “Movement for Georgia’s Unity and Integration”/ „მოძრაობა საქართველოს ერთობისა და გაერთიანებისთვის“ was interfering in the work of GYLA observer and tried to lodge unsubstantiated complaints against GYLA observer. The incident is resolved at the moment.
Issues, related to the mobile ballot box
- At the precinct #112 of the Kutaisi district, 4 persons were registered in the mobile ballot box voters’ list. While leaving the polling station, the commission members took 5 ballots with them, along with the mobile ballot box. As the mobile ballot box returned, it turned out that 3 persons voted, but 1 ballot was missing. GYLA observer has lodged the complaint on this issue;
- At the precinct #6 of the Batumi district, voter has put the envelope into the mobile ballot box.
Alleged control of voters’ will
- At the precinct #42 of the Didube district, the representative of the “Georgian Dream” was counting the incoming voters with a list in the hand. Following the remark of the chairperson, the representative left the polling station and continued collecting the information outside the polling station.
Presence of unauthorized person at the polling station
- GYLA revealed the presence of unauthorized person in the precinct #74 of the Nadzaladevi district. Specifically, the citizen – Monika Pachulia was present under the “observer” status, however, their certificate did not specify the organization. Despite this, the precinct chairperson has allowed her to stay at the polling station. GYLA informed the Central Election Commission of this, after which the problem was resolved and Monika Pachulia left the polling station;
- GYLA revealed the presence of unauthorized person in the precinct #41 of Batoumi, who left the polling station as a result of GYLA’s remark;
- According to GYLA observer, unidentified persons are present at the adjacent territory near the polling station and are listing up the incoming voters (at the precincts #36 of Mtatsminda, #60 and #61 of Saburtalo, #10, #18, #19, #29, #42 of Didube, #16, #19, #37 of Chughureti, #48 of Marneuli districts);
- The precinct #32 of Kobuleti district was opened one hour late, because the ballots had a print damage. The numbers of two candidates (Salome Zurabishvili and Giorgi Andriadze – 48 and 51) were not visible;
- At the precinct #49 of the Nadzaladevi district, unidentified individuals were filming in live regime. Following the remark of GYLA observer, the person has stopped filming and has left the territory;
- At the precinct #64 of the Marneuli district, there are no cabins for the persons with a disability.
GYLA Observation Mission on the Election Day
GYLA’s 2018 Observation Mission for Presidential Elections covers Tbilisi and 9 regions of Georgia: Imereti, Guria, Adjara, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Shida Kartli, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Kvemo Kartli, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Kakheti and Tbilisi (through 400 observers).
Static observers are present at the 250 polling stations throughout Georgia. We observe the problematic precincts and adjacent territory across 33 districts through 50 mobile groups and 59 district observers.
Considering the nature of the observation mission, we pay special attention to the following issues:
- The problematic precincts, where problems were revealed by GYLA observers during the previous elections and the pre-election period;
- The dense settlements of ethnic minorities and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from the Occupied Territories of Georgia);
- The developments surrounding the polling stations and the activities of the law-enforcements (the implementation of the decree of the Minister of Internal Affairs (MIA));
- Inclusiveness of the electoral environment, among others for persons with a disability and ethnic minorities. We also prioritize the research of women’s electoral-political engagement.
On the election day, GYLA operates a special hotline: 032 2 18 26 30, where any citizen can receive consultations on the electoral procedures. GYLA will also consult journalists and media organizations, regarding the electoral procedures, electoral violations and the methods to respond to them. They will have a possibility to inform us of the revealed violations.
On the Election Day, GYLA’s electoral analytical database will collect the and analyze the information in real time, through the observers and analysts, sent to various regions of Georgia.
GYLA will hold two more press conferences on the Election Day, in the NGO Media Center (address : Shalva Dadiani #2/1). Press conferences will be held on October 28 at: 18:00 and 21:00. On October 29, GYLA will evaluate the Election Day through the 12:00 press-conference.
GYLA’s Observation Mission for the 2018 Presidential Elections is made possible through the funding, provided by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the British Embassy in Tbilisi and the Norwegian Embassy in Baku.
