By 21:00, GYLA continues observing the elections. Overall, the Election Day was peaceful, and according to our information, the identified violations throughout the Election Day (from 08:00 to 20:00) have not (this far) influenced the electoral process significantly.
Currently, the polling stations are closed and the vote counting process is ongoing. Therefore, GYLA will observe the vote count and vote summary process. The organization calls upon all the stakeholders to peacefully wait for the summary of the results and to not interfere in the work of the commission, prescribed under the law. Simultaneously, the election administration representatives must ensure the proper procedures of vote count in accordance with the legislation of Georgia.
As for the vote process summary, by now, GYLA considers that throughout the day, the voter mobilization and the attempts of alleged control over voters will were widespread.
GYLA has been indicating this damaging practice for years, which requires a relevant legislative regulation, among others, to improve the standards of processing the personal information of voters.
Notably, alleged control over voters’ will and processing voters’ personal information becomes an acute issue earlier than the Election Day – starting from the pre-election period.
In comparison with previous elections, during the 2018 elections, in addition to party coordinators allegedly attempting to control voters’ will, the calls were also made from the government-supported candidate – Salome Zurabishvili’s electoral headquarters.
In addition, serious violations were revealed – including, alleged facts of vote bribery, which indicates an allegedly criminal element (precinct #56 of Samgori district); taking the ballot from the polling station (precinct #52 of the Saburtalo district and precinct #78 of Samgori district).
In addition, procedural violations have been revealed – similar to the previous elections, including:
- Mobilizing voters outside the polling stations, which were listing the incoming voters;
- Voting through expired ID cards;
- Physical confrontation facts (precinct #59 of Marneuli district);
- Problems related to inking (precincts #49 and 57 of Kutaisi district);
- Campaigning at the polling station (precinct #8 of Borjomi district);
- Damaging the table list (precinct #96 of Gori district);
- Violation of the casting of lots procedure (United National Movement and European Georgia commission members refused to participate in the casting of lots for mobile box follower, arbitrary exchange of functions established through casting of lots).
GYLA’s observers have lodged total 94 complaints on electoral violations, including 52 at the precinct level, 42 at the district level and 40 remarks in logbooks.
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, KvemoKartli, 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 is also consulting 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 is collecting and analyzing the information in real time, through the observers and analysts, sent to various regions of Georgia.
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.
