Voting Process by 19:00
The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) is monitoring the October 21, 2017 local self-government elections in all electoral districts across Georgia. ISFED Observation Mission consists of 1050 observers deployed at precinct, 73 observers at district electoral commissions and 80 mobile groups. Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) Data Analysis and Incident Centers are working in the central office staffed with 18 operators and 13 lawyers. ISFED’s observation of the local self-government elections is based on the Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) methodology, which enables us to timely detect violations, systematically evaluate the entire Election Day process and verify the accuracy of the official election results.
For the October 21, 2017 local self-government elections ISFED has deployed PVT observers to:
• A nationally representative, random sample of 300 polling stations throughout Georgia to assess the quality of the election day process;
• A representative, random sample of 350 polling stations in Tbilisi to evaluate the quality of the process and to verify results for the Mayoral and City Council races;
• All polling stations in self-governing cities of Kutaisi, Rustavi, Batumi and Poti and municipalities of Akhaltsikhe and Marneuli to evaluate the quality of the process and to verify results for the Mayoral and City Council races.
In this statement, ISFED presents information about voter turnout as of 17:00 and any violations that have been reported by this time.
Key Findings
By the time of this statement, some incidents revealed by the ISFED observers are more than procedural irregularities and represent significant electoral violations, with potential to have substantial negative influence over voting process in those precincts. #22 Marneuli electoral district still remains to be the most problematic, where violations influencing on the result of elections were identified in certain polling stations throughout the day. Procedural violations were observed in the polling stations #50, #18, #31, #83 of the election district #22 (Marneuli). These violations include cases of voting with improper documentation, voting instead of other individual, voting without proper inking and campaigning at the polling station.
At the moment of the statement ISFED has filed 60 complaints at the Precinct Electoral Commissions (PECs) and 66 complaints filed at the District Electoral Commissions (DECs). ISFED observers have made 47 entries in the record books.
Voter Turnout by 17:00 (PVT Results)
According to ISFED, voter turnout by 17:00 was 36.5%, (with a margin of error of +/-0.5%), which is a slightly higher compared to the 2014 local elections when voter turnout by 17:00 was (34.4%).
The voter turnout in the following self-governing cities and municipalities was following as of 17:00:
Tbilisi - 34.5%, (with a margin of error of +/-0.3%), which is increased compared to the 2014 local elections when voter turnout was 29.1%.
Kutaisi - 28.3%
Batumi - 29.1%
Rustavi - 30.9%
Poti - 37.2%
Marneuli - 30.8%
Akhaltsikhe - 41.8%
Analysis of the PVT information allows ISFED to calculate the average time it takes for a polling station to process a voter based on the voter turnout data. Based on the information received from PECs, up to 17:00, in 92.6% of polling stations, the commission processed, on average, one voter per minute, while in 7.4% of polling stations the commission processed 1-2 voters per minute.
Violations observed by ISFED at the time of the statement
As of now, ISFED observers have reported following violations:
Voting with improper documentation
• At the polling station #50 of the election district #22 (Marneuli), a few voters were allowed to cast a vote with expired passports;
• At the polling station #18 of the election district #22 (Marneuli), three registrars handed over ballot papers to voters without first requesting their identification documents.
Voting instead of other individual
• At the polling station #50 of the election district #22 (Marneuli), a number of cases were identified where voters cast a vote instead of other individuals.
Casting of vote by unouthorised individual
• At the polling station #2 of the election district #79 (Batumi), three members of the commission voted on majoritarian ballot, even though they were not registered at that precinct.
• At the polling station #46 of the election district #67 (Zugdidi), two voters were allowed to cast a vote using mobile ballot box and at the ballot box in the precinct as well. An ISFED observer requested annulment of the mobile ballot box.
Violation of inking procedure
• At the polling station #31 of the election district #22 (Marneuli), more than three voters were allowed to cast a vote without being checked for ink.
• At polling station #50, of the election district #22 (Marneuli), voters were not checked for ink.
• At the polling station #48 of the election district #20 (Rustavi), two voters were allowed to cast a vote without first being checked for ink.
Violation of the secrecy of the vote
• At the polling station #7 of the election district #79 (Batumi), a voter who was unable to cast a vote inside the polling booth, due to physical condition, was allowed to fill in the ballot papers in front of the members of commission violating their secrecy of their vote.
Campaigning at the polling station
• At the polling station #84 of the election district #22 (Marneuli), the registrar was campaigning in favor of the Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia. Registrar was indicating to the number of the party.
Intimidation of observers
• At the polling station #74 of the election district #22, the chairperson of commission had aggressive and negative attitude towards ISFED observer.
• At the polling station #31 of the election district #22 observer representing the organization “Unanimity for Human Rights”, Nazakhi Goisubov pressured the ISFED observer in an attempt to prevent filing of complaint by the latter. It is noteworthy that this individual was trying to influence voters’ will during the Election Day.
Improper placement of ballot paper in ballot box
• At the polling station #2 of the election district #20 (Rustavi), one ballot paper was placed without envelope in the ballot box by a voter.
Irregularities related to voters list
• At the polling station #27 of the election district #1 (Mtatsminda), a deceased individual is in the voters list.
Inadequate handling of electoral documentation
• At the polling station #45 of the election district #56 (Chiatura), the ballot papers were handed over to voters without first requesting to put their signature in the voters list. The ISFED observer requested annulment of the mobile ballot box and to impose liability on the relevant members of the commission.
• At the polling station #56 of the district #79, the registrar allowed a voter to cast a ballot without placing a signature on the voters list.
• At the polling station #18 of the election district #33 (Kareli), the registrar handed over ballot papers without proper checking of information on the voter list.
• At the polling station #55 of the election district #9 (Nadzaladevi), number of ballot papers that were handed over was exceeding number of voters’ signatures by three.
• At the polling station #14 of the election district #59 (Kutaisi) registrar did not manage to ensure that the voter put their signature in the right spot on the voters list.
• At the polling station #66 of the election district #40, the registrar was signing and stamping the ballot papers in advance. The incident was resolved after the ISFED observer pointed it out.
• At the polling station #24 of the election district #3 (Saburtalo), the number of voters of mobile ballot box was not indicated in the demonstration protocol. The incident was resolved after the ISFED observer pointed it out.
• At the polling station #19 of the election district #4 (Krtsanisi), the registrar handed over one more ballot paper to the voter. The registrar had to write an explanatory note.
• At the polling station #10 of the election district #57 (Tkibuli), after the return of the mobile ballot box it was revealed that members of the commission carrying the box had taken one less ballot paper then needed.
• At the polling station #23 of the election district #59 (Kutaisi), the registrar improperly put their signatures on the voters list.
• At the polling station #69 of the election district #22 (Marneuli), it was not indicated in the voters list that voter was casting a vote using mobile ballot box.
ISFED allows you to follow the election process online, by going to the elections web-portal – www.electionsportal.ge, where election violations are posted on the elections map. In addition, anyone can report violation of the electoral process by sending a text to a toll-free number 90039.
ISFED reminds voters that in order to vote they should have with them: Georgian citizen ID card or a Passport.
ISFED calls upon 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 will release its next statement at 23:00
ISFED Observation Mission is made possible with the generous
support from the American people, by financial support from the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID). The Election Day mission is also
supported by the Federal Foreign
Office of Germany and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The views
expressed in this statement belong solely to the International Society for Fair
Elections and Democracy and may not necessarily reflect the views of USAID, the
United States Government, the Federal
Republic of Germany, or NED.