2021 Local Self-Government

Key findings for 15:00:

According to the information collected from PVT observers, there are facts of violation of the secrecy of vote; namely, some voters are showing their ballots before placing them in the ballot box to the people inside the polling station. There were some cases of restriction on the rights of observers, including in a polling station in Zugdidi, where ISFED’s two different observers were expelled from the polling station premises. Some flaws were identified with respect to the voters lists, including unfounded inclusion of voters in the special lists. In addition, there were cases of the registrars asking the voters to sign the voters list. ISFED observers also noted several instances of voter names being marked by the people inside the polling station.
ISFED is also observing the outside perimeter of polling stations. According to the information obtained from PVT observers, facts of noting of observers who had cast their voters (e.g. putting marks next to voter names) took a more large-scale form. At some polling stations, ISFED observers observed suspicious gathering of persons, including inside cars. Several facts of vote buying were also reported.

Detailed information on the voting process by 12:00

According to the PVT results, the following voter turnout statistics was reported:
● Voter turnout across the country by 12:00 is 17.7%, (with a margin of error of +/-0.4%), which is a minor increase compared to the 2017 local elections, when voter turnout by 12:00 was 16.3%;
● Voter turnout in Tbilisi is 15.8% (with a margin of error of +/-0.4% which is a minor increase compared to the 2017 local elections when the voter turnout by 12:00 was 14.7%;
● In the regions, voter turnout stood at 18.5% (with a margin of error of +/- 0.6%).

In 98.6% of polling stations, polling was running in accordance with the Covid-19 regulations, which is statistically similar to the corresponding figure from the 2020 parliamentary elections 96.2%.

Violations at the Polling Stations
As of now, ISFED observers have reported following violations identified at the polling stations:

Restriction of the right of observer (3)
● At the polling station #90 of the electoral district #67 (Zugdidi), ballot casting procedure was running without major violations. However, there were instances of verbal abuse, confrontation and pressure against the ISFED observer, Elene Narmania, and later against ISFED observers of the mobile group, David Logua and Data Akubardia. The ones were physically assaulted too. Observer Elene Narmania was illegally expelled from the polling station and restricted her observation right. Prior to the incident, her observation right has been constantly restricted throughout the day. The election commission was not acting autonomously, but upon the instruction of Giorgi Jikia, chairperson of the organization “Societal Unity - Georgia First”. He was instructing the commission chairperson to expel certain people from the polling station. ISFED observers also noticed the ballot casting without inking, and repeated ballot casting instances. Observer of the Young Georgian Lawyers Association (GYLA) was also expelled from the same polling station;
● At the polling station #38 of the electoral district #20 (Rustavi), ISFED observer wasn’t allowed to make a note in the record book upon the commission secretary’s obstruction;
● At the polling station#21 of the electoral district #3 (Mtatsminda), commission chairperson asked ISFED observer to participate in casting lots for the selection of mobile ballot box commission members.

Violation of the secrecy of vote (7)
● At the polling station #30 of the electoral district #1 (Mtatsminda), voting booths are located close to commission members, which violates the secrecy of votes;
● At the polling station #118 of the electoral district #58 (Kutaisi), ballot with voter’s choice indicated on it, was dropped in the ballot box without the envelope, resulting in the violation of the secrecy of vote;
● At the polling station #14 of the electoral district #62 (Chokhatauri), number of cases of the violation of the secrecy of vote were reported. Voters leave the voting booths with ballot papers exposing the choice made, which violates the secrecy of votes. Commission chairpersons didn't address the issue despite observers’ notice;
● At the polling station #71 of the electoral district #32 (Gori), a voter was accompanied by the outsider, while the voter was not in need of a help;
● At the polling station #13 of the electoral district 52 (Baghdati), a voter showed the ballot paper to the commission member supervising the ballot box, prior to dropping it in the ballot box. The commission member saw the choice made by the voter and handshaked;
● At the polling station #14 of the electoral district #22 (Marneuli), commission member supervising the ballot box and the envelopes, was checking the voters’ choice. Three such cases were reported. The chairperson of the commission did not address the identified issues;
● At the polling station #27 of the electoral district #37 (Akhaltsikhe), two voters showed their ballot paper with their choices exposed to the election observer representing the organization “Youth Initiative - For Democracy”.

Violations related to the voters list (8)
● At the polling station #75 of the electoral district #6 (Samgori), a voter discovered to be transferred to the special list, though they have not requested so. The voter managed to cast the vote;
● At the polling station #29 of the electoral district #5 (Isani), at 11:42, count of the distributed ballot papers showed that the registrar had released one more ballot paper; Upcon the commission chairperson’s instruction, registrar submitted the explanatory note;
● At the polling station #17 of the electoral district #70 (Photi), information about the voters in the list mobile ballot box list, was not indicated in the registrar’s list;
● At the polling station #8 of the electoral district #79 (Batumi), information on the voters in the special and mobile ballot box lists, were not properly indicated in the ful, public version of the list. At the polling station #52 of the same electoral district, information was not properly indicated neither in the table version nor in the full public version of the voters list;
● At the polling station #8 of the electoral district #52 (Baghdati), registrar hand over the ballot to the voter without the one’s signature on the registration paper;
● At the polling station #33 of the electoral district #82 (Kobuleti), the number of ballot papers released at the polling station exceeds the number of signatures in the table version of the voters list. According to the registrar’s explanation, the discrepancy can be explained by a voter’s missed signature;
● At the polling stations #77, #79 and #82 of the electoral district #59 (Kutaisi), voters at the polling station discovered that their data was transferred to the special lists without any precondition. Due to this circumstances, they were not able to cast they could not choose majoritarian candidate;
● At the polling station #46 of the electoral district #3 (Saburtalo), two versions of the voters list were discovered, which contradicts the election code.

Agitation (4)
● At the polling station #4 of the electoral district #14 (Dedophlistskaro), queue manager clearly instructed voters to choose number 5;
● At the polling station #14 of the electoral district #62 (Chokhatauri), ballot box supervisor commission member frequently neglected to fulfill her role and frequently left the polling station to meet the voters in the outside perimeter;
● At the polling station #10 of the electoral district #63 (Abasha), representative of the Mayor’s office, with the observer’s badge, met and talked to the voters at the polling stations;
● At the polling station #1 of the electoral district #36 (Borjomi), agitation materials of the Georgian Dream party were demonstrated on the exterior of the polling stations. Namely, the banner of the mayor’s candidate. Agitation material is placed within the 25 meters perimeter, violating the relevant regulation.

Noting the voters at the polling stations (3)
● At the polling station #44 of the electoral district #20 (Rustavi), representative of the Georgian Dream party is tracking the voters, noting them and transferring the information to the unknown contact persons through phone conversation, neglecting the notice by the commission chairperson;
● At the polling #38 of the electoral district #20 (Rustavi), a man standing at the polling station’s entrance is talking on the phone transferring the information about the voters who turned about at the polling stations to cast their vote;
● At the polling station #10 of the electoral district #24 (Dmanisi), a commission member representing the Georgian Dream, were tracking the voters (e.g. noting the voters in the list).

Errors in setting up the polling stations (3)
● At the polling station #68 of the electoral district # 67 (Zugdidi), polling station is located in the two-floor building, where the ballot casting space is located on the second floor. Pursuant to the chairperson’s instruction, the queue manager on the second floor doesn’t check whether the ink is applied on the first floor. Thus, proper observation of the inking procedure and casting the ballot procedure is not possible;
● At the polling station #56 of the electoral district #67 (Zugdidi), polling station was quite crowded and the registrar was serving more than two voters at the same time;
● At the polling station #1 of the electoral district #10, where up to 1600 voters are registered, video camera dedicated for the vote count procedure was not in place;

Errors related to the voting documentation (3)
● At the polling station #22 of the electoral district #3 (Saburtalo), registrar handed over two identical ballot paper to the voter;
● At the polling station #29 of the electoral district #66 (khobi), registrar cut the ballot paper in a way that the polling station and district commission information were not visible. Observers reported ten such cases;
● At the polling station #8 of the electoral district #8 (Didube), registrar cut the ballot paper in a way that the polling station and district commission information were not visible.

Violation of the inking procedure (2)
● At the polling station #36 of the electoral district #5 (Isani), at 08:00, the registrar applied the inking before checking the voter’s information in the table version of the voters list. It appeared that the voter was registered at another polling station and the person’s right to vote was restricted;
● At the polling station #73 of the electoral district #10 (Gldani), the registrar applied the inking before checking the voter’s information in the table version of the voters list. It appeared that the voter was registered at another polling station and the person’s right to vote was restricted;

Problems related to ballots stacks (2)
● At the polling station #41 of the electoral district #8 (Didube), the polling station received ballots from Mtatsminda electoral district. The PEC used 36 of such ballots;
● At the polling station #65 of the electoral district #2 (Didube), the ballot stacks had problems. Namely, one had a missing ballot and another one had two surplus ballots.

Chaos at the polling station (2)
● At the polling station #4 of the electoral district #24 (Dmanisi), there is a chaos at the polling station. The queue manager is not controlling the flow of voters, which causes disorder. The problem was not addressed despite the observer’s verbal notice;
● At the polling station #59 of the electoral district #22 (Marneuli), there was high concentration of people and confusion inside the polling station. The status of people inside the polling station could not be verified, the secrecy of vote was endangered and the conduct of elections in a healthy and calm environment was at risk. There was a gathering of a large number of people outside the polling station. After the police were called, the situation settled.

Violations/trends observed outside the polling stations

Display of campaign materials within 25 meters from the polling station (4)
● At the polling station #103 of the electoral district #32 (Gori), there were campaign materials of Georgian Dream’s mayoral candidate, Vladimer Khinchegashvili displayed near the polling station;
● At the polling station #46 of the electoral district #23 (Bolnisi), there is a poster of the Georgian Dream’s mayoral candidate;
● At the polling station #49 of the electoral district #91 (Samgori), there are posters of the Georgian Dream and the United National Movement;
● At the polling station #16 of the electoral district #22 (Marneuli), there are posters of the Georgian Dream candidate.

Mobilization of coordinators (3)
● At the polling station #60 of the electoral district #20 (Rustavi), there are coordinators of the For Georgia party close to the polling station;
● At the polling station #17 of the electoral district #9 (Nadzaladevi), there is an unauthorized group of individuals (most likely, party coordinators), who are calling voters and trying to mobilize them;
● At the polling station #30 of the electoral district #83 (Khelvachauri), there is a person who is greeting observers, trying to start a conversation and calling on them to vote. This person is calling other people on the cell phone and reporting on the voter turnout at the polling station.

Alleged vote buying (4)
● At the polling station #5 of the electoral district #67 (Zugdidi), ISFED observer noted a case, when an unidentified individual handed over money to an observer. Later, the two entered the polling station together;
● At the polling station #30 of the electoral district #83 (Khelvachauri), there was a reported case of vote buying. According to ISFED observer, a voter was handed a voucher;
● At the polling station #64 of the electoral district #81 (Kobuleti), there was a representative of an organization “Green World”, who was distributing vouchers to voters;
● At the polling station #75 of the electoral district #2 (Vake), outside the 100 meter range, there are coordinators, who are handing over money to voters.

Marking of voters who had cast their votes (6)
● At the polling station #30 of the electoral district #83 (Khelvachauri), there is an observer of the “League of Young Patriots”, who is checking the IDs of voters and asking them their names and last names;
● At the polling station #68 of the electoral district #20 (Rustavi), there is a gathering of seven persons, who are noting the voters who had come to cast their votes;
● At the polling station #62 of the electoral district #6 (Samgori), there is a gathering of five persons, who are calling other persons on cell phone and checking whether they had come or not;
● At the polling station #86 of the electoral district #67 (Zugdidi), there are representatives of organizations Green World and Public Union, who are noting the voters who had come to cast their votes;
● At the polling station #60 of the electoral district #20 (Rustavi), there are representatives of the Georgian Dream coordinators and are noting the voters who had come to cast their votes;
● At the polling station #2 of the electoral district #52 (Bagdati), there are two persons, who are likely noting the voters who had come to cast their votes.

Gatherings within the 100 meter range (6)
● At the polling station #2 of the electoral district #52 (Bagdati), there were Georgian Dream coordinators in a car;
● At the polling station #2 of the electoral district #52 (Bagdati), there were two persons, who were allegedly marking voters;
● At the polling station #75 of the electoral district #2 (Vake), there was a car parked within the 100 meter range. The persons sitting in the car were communicating with voters. Apart from that, there is a group of people standing in the nearby courtyard;
● At the polling station #30 of the electoral district #83 (Khelvachauri), there is a group of people standing close to the polling station;
● At the polling station #49 of the electoral district #6 (Samgori), starting from 10:00, there is a gathering of representatives of the criminal underworld;
● At the polling station #30 of the electoral district #83 (Khelvachauri), there is a gathering of around 4-5 persons, who are trying to start conversations with voters.

Control of voters will outside the 100 meter range (2)
● At the polling station #43 of the electoral district #58 (Zugdidi), polling station #15 of the electoral district #39 (Aspindza), and polling station #5 of the electoral district (#67) there are cars parked outside the 100 meter range. Persons inside the cars are monitoring the voters;
● At the polling station #4 of the electoral district #62 (Chokhatauri), around 300 meters from the polling station, there is a car parked, where party coordinators are marking the voters who had cast their votes.

Control of voters will within the 100 meter range (1)
● At the polling station #5 of the electoral district #67 (Zugdidi), there was a car parked within the 100 meter range, where unidentified individuals are observing the processes of voters entering the polling station premises.

Voter mobilization (1)
● At the polling station #2 of the electoral district #52 (Bagdati), voters were transported to the polling stations twice with the same car.

Restriction of the right of observers (1)
● At the polling station #73 of the electoral district #3 (Saburtalo), police was present from 08:00. Police representatives were asking ISFED observers to leave the territory and move beyond the 100 meter range. The problem was resolved following ISFED’s communication with the representatives of the Interior Ministry.

Attempts by unauthorized persons to enter the polling station (1)
● At the polling station #11 of the electoral district #84 (Khulo), an unauthorized person was trying to enter the polling station, but the person was not allowed in. The person stayed near the polling station and was trying to communicate with voters.

Complaints and statements
As of 10:00, ISFED observers have filed 10 complaints at precinct election commissions, 6 complaints at district election commissions and 14 entries in the record book.

Information on the monitoring mission
The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) is monitoring the October 2, 2021 Municipal elections in all electoral districts across Georgia (excluding the occupied territories).
ISFED’s election day observation mission consists of around 1,000 accredited and trained observers deployed at polling stations, 73 observers deployed at district electoral commissions and 78 mobile groups. This year, ISFED is also observing the outside perimeter of polling stations with 121 observers. ISFED operates data and incident processing centers at its headquarters, with 20 operators and 21 lawyers, respectively.
ISFED’s observation of the Municipal elections is based on the Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) methodology, where PVT observers are deployed to a statistically sound, nationally representative sample of polling stations throughout the country. PVT observers are also deployed to a representative sample of polling stations in Tbilisi. The outside monitoring effort employs an identical methodology. The PVT methodology enables ISFED to quickly detect violations, systematically evaluate the quality of the entire voting process, and verify the accuracy of official results.
Election day incidents and alleged violations are posted on the interactive map of the Elections Portal - http://www.electionsportal.ge/. Anyone with information on possible violations can report it by sending a text to this toll-free number 90039, or at the web-portal - http://www.electionsportal.ge/geo/new_incident.
For further information, follow the organization’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.
ISFED will release the next statement at 19:00.

ISFED urges all eligible voters in Georgia to go to the polls and express their free will by voting in favor of a candidate of their choice. ISFED reminds all voters to wear a mask and adhere to the designated safety procedures when voting, including those registered on the mobile ballot box list.

ISFED's monitoring mission is made possible by the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the European Union (EU). Monitoring of the outside perimeter of polling stations was made possible by the British embassy in Georgia. The opinions expressed herein belong solely to the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy and do not necessarily reflect the views of the USAID, the United States Government the EU, or the Government of the United Kingdom.