Statements

According to a statement made by Shalva Papuashvili on 17 November, the Georgian Dream party plans to abolish the possibility of voting from abroad in parliamentary elections through amendments to the Election Code. Georgian citizens residing outside the country have enjoyed this right for many years. Given the geographical mobility in modern societies, depriving citizens abroad of the opportunity to participate in elections is yet another step against inclusive democracy and harms the principle of universal suffrage. 

First and foremost, any significant legislative change requires the involvement of relevant stakeholders and reasonable timelines - especially when it concerns restricting the rights of tens of thousands of people. However, in recent years, particularly after the 2024 parliamentary elections, it has become common practice for major legislative changes to be adopted through an entirely exclusive process without any formal consultations with stakeholders, including field experts. Typically, such changes are tailored to the narrow partisan interests of Georgian Dream. The plan to abolish the possibility of voting abroad in parliamentary elections follows this same trend. 

Traditional interpretations of electoral rights do not mandate participation in elections for citizens residing abroad; however, according to the 2005 Resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), electoral rights constitute the basis of democratic legitimacy and the representative nature of the political process. These rights must evolve in line with the progress of modern societies toward inclusive democracy. From PACE’s perspective, priority should be given to ensuring effective, free, and equal electoral rights for as many citizens as possible. This includes paying particular attention to the voting rights of citizens residing abroad. The Assembly recommends that, given the importance of the right to vote in a democratic society, Council of Europe member states should allow their citizens living abroad to vote in national elections and take appropriate measures to facilitate the exercise of this right. 

Furthermore, the Venice Commission urges states to adopt a positive approach toward the voting rights of citizens residing abroad, considering European mobility and the specific circumstances of certain countries, as this right contributes to the development of both national and European citizenship. 

In modern societies, it is common for citizens living abroad to enjoy broad opportunities to exercise both active and passive electoral rights, for which states introduce special mechanisms. According to data from the International IDEA, more than 150 countries allow their citizens to vote abroad, including almost all member states of the Council of Europe. It is also noteworthy that the global trend toward enabling voting from abroad continues to grow. In addition to in-person voting abroad (42% of countries), other forms - such as postal voting (20%) and electronic voting (6%) - are increasingly being implemented. 

Therefore, abolishing the possibility for Georgian citizens to vote from outside the country runs counter to good international electoral practice and global trends. It clearly creates the impression that this step against the principle of universal suffrage is driven solely by narrow partisan interests. For context, in the 2024 parliamentary elections, Georgian Dream received the support of only about 13% of voters at polling stations opened abroad, while according to the Central Election Commission’s nationwide results, the party received approximately 54% support overall. 

We call on the Georgian Dream-led parliament not to support the abolition of voting from abroad for Georgian citizens and, instead, to facilitate greater opportunities for these persons to exercise their right to vote.