Municipal Elections - Preliminary Results of Second Round
The second round of Municipal Elections is over. Chairperson of the Central Election Commission (CEC) presented preliminary results of the elections to the media and the public during a press briefing held today. Giorgi Kalandarishvili expressed his gratitude towards the voters for their activity and for high civic responsibility exposed for the second round of elections. “In pandemic conditions, 1 025 406 voters took part in the process of voting. I thank each and every election administrator who spared no effort, worked 24 hours a day and still continue to work in order to ensure free and transparent environment for the entire electoral process.
The election process was quite competitive. Inaccuracies took place, but overall, not only by our estimation, a COVID-safe and professionally organized election environment was ensured for every voter arriving at the Precinct Election Commission (PEC). In certain cases, the voting process was delayed for a while due to specific incidents in several precincts, which did not affect the entire voting process.
The second round of elections was conducted and I would like to thank all the electoral stakeholders: observer organizations, media outlets and electoral subjects who were actively observing the elections," - stated the CEC Chairperson.
Preliminary election results of self-governing cities and self-governing communities
As Giorgi Kalandarishvili stated at the end of the briefing, the preliminary results of the second round are counted according to the summary protocols of all 261 polling stations through the majoritarian contest and full information is available at the CEC’s special website: results.cec.gov.ge.
According to the legislation, the Election Administration (EA) officially summarizes the results of the second round no later than November 13, after completing all the procedures prescribed by law.
As for the complaints, a total of 272 complaints were submitted to the District Election Commissions (DECs) yesterday, of which 121 were submitted by observers and 151 by electoral subjects. Most of them related to procedural violations. Detailed statistics on complaints will be provided by the EA to the public in the nearest future. We would like to remind you, that the DECs will examine the complaints within 4 calendar days in accordance with the Election Code and then make a decision.
The DEC’s decision may be appealed to a respective district/city court within 2 calendar days. The district/city court shall consider the appeal within 2 calendar days.
We would also like to recall that the EA will carry out recount procedures; In each election district, where the second round of elections was held, 5-5 polling stations will be identified by casting a lot on a random basis and the results of a total of 150 polling stations will be recounted; this is another important guarantee of ensuring the high quality of election transparency.
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Head of the Central Election Commission of Turkmenistan met with representatives of the Supreme Electoral Council of the Republic of Turkey
On March 10, 2022, Gulmyrat Muradov, the head of the of apparatus of the Commission for holding Elections and referendums in Turkmenistan met with Muharram Akkaya, head of the Supreme Electoral Council of the Republic of Turkey, and Ali Urker, member of the Supreme Electoral Council of the Republic of Turkey, who arrived in our country as international observers. About this reports website of Central Commission for Holding Elections and Referendums in Turkmenistan.
The head of the Central Election Commission of Turkmenistan said that he was pleased to see representatives of the friendly state in Turkmenistan as international observers, informed them about conduct and preparation works on elections on March 12, 2022 as well as introduced the provisions of the electoral law.
At the end of the meeting, the representatives of the Supreme Electoral Council of the Republic of Turkey, our fraternal state, wished the head of the Central Election Commission of Turkmenistan organized helding of the important political and public event on March 12.
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The Parliament elected the Chairman of the Central Election Commission and two members of the commission. They announced it recently.
In the primary ballot, two candidates for the CEC chairmanship: Tengiz Tevzadze and Giorgi Kalandarishvili, failed to get two-thirds (100) votes in the full parliament.According to the law, Giorgi Kalandarishvili was elected as the Chairman of the Central Election Commission for a term of 6 months by 84 votes against 2 in the second round of voting.
As for the election of professional members of the CEC - the MPs voted for 4 candidates for 2 vacant positions - Kristine Kajaia, Levan Isakadze, Maia Zaridze and Gia Tsatsashvili.
Similar to the election of the CEC Chairpaerson, none of the candidates managed to get 2/3 of the votes in the primary ballot.
As a result of repeated vote, Maia Zaridze was elected as a member of the Central Election Commission with 79 votes against 2 and Gia Tsatsashvili with 77 votes against 2, also for 6 months.
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Following the election legislation and by the CEC Chairperson’s initiative results of 201 election precincts are recounted in total by November 1st. The Central Election Commission delivers detailed statistics on the recounts: relevant district election commissions recounted election results of obligatory 5-5 polling stations and the data of 2-2 election precincts that fell under the recommendation issued by the CEC. As of now, 11% of 1830 election precincts are recounted. Through the country, in the mayoral contest, the number of votes for the “United National Movement” decreased by 21, and 28 votes were added to the mentioned political party. The number of votes for “Georgian Dream” was decreased by 10 votes and 23 votes were added, 2 votes were added to the election subject “Tamaz Mechiauti for United Georgia”.
Recounts neither affected the DECs’ preliminary results of the second round of elections nor election precincts’.
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After a long and divisive campaign, the people of Georgia cast their votes in the second round of municipal elections on October 30. We commend the voters, and dedicated election workers, representatives of Georgia’s professional domestic election observation organizations and NGOs, and international monitors who participated despite the COVID pandemic and a tense election environment.
We share ODIHR’s assessment that the elections were generally calm and well-administered but allegations of intimidation and pressure on voters persisted and continued polarization, coupled with the escalation of negative rhetoric, adversely affected the process. Sharp imbalances of resources and an undue advantage of incumbency further tilted the playing field. ODIHR also noted concerns with the persistent practice of representatives of observer organizations acting as party supporters, at times interfering with the process, and groups of individuals potentially influencing voters outside some polling stations. While ODIHR found that the CEC organized the second round in a professional and transparent manner, concerns over the impartiality of the lower-level election commissions persisted. U.S. Embassy election observation teams witnessed similar interference and bias at several precincts.
As these elections have shown, democracy is a work in progress. It requires dedication to the highest international standards and vigilance to ensure citizens’ rights and freedoms are protected. Some of the reforms enacted by Georgia’s political leaders through an inclusive, multiparty process earlier this year, such as automatic recounts and electronic vote counting, largely succeeded in increasing the transparency of the voting process.
These positive steps forward were undermined, unfortunately, by wide-spread violations in the pre-election period and on both election days that adversely affected the ability of citizens to vote freely. Rather than improving the atmosphere by addressing problems identified by election observers in the first round, intimidation, offensive rhetoric, misuse of administrative resources, and reports of blatant vote-buying and other violations continued, and a politicized media further inflamed the polarized atmosphere.
We are particularly troubled by credible reports of violence against election observers and the media during both rounds of the election. These groups are the cornerstone of any democracy, and attacks against members of the media and election observers must be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Their reports should be viewed as providing valuable information that can improve the electoral process.
The election process now continues with random recounts of at least 140 precincts and the adjudication of hundreds of complaints. This phase is both a test and an opportunity for the Central Election Commission and the courts, and it will be critical for these institutions to perform their duties transparently and impartially. We call on the parties to use the legal mechanisms available and pursue peaceful means to adjudicate election disputes. Democracy in Georgia will not be strengthened by resorting to violence or pursuing solutions outside the law.
Each election – even imperfect ones – offers lessons learned and an opportunity to address persistent abuses that have degraded recent elections and eroded the public’s trust in their democratic institutions. As a start, we urge Georgia’s leaders to enact and implement all the remaining reforms recommended by ODIHR, the Venice Commission, and other international experts. These recommendations were provided at Parliament’s request and would be a significant step toward ensuring the next elections are an improvement over the last.
The American people have supported Georgia’s efforts throughout the long, challenging process of building strong institutions, a robust civil society, a professional, pluralistic media, and a government that is responsive to the people. The recent elections and Georgia’s deeply divisive political environment show much more work is urgently needed. The United States has offered our friendship as an honest partner to the people and government of Georgia because we believe in Georgia’s future as a stable, prosperous democracy that respects the rule of law, human rights, and fundamental freedoms. We remain committed to helping Georgia achieve those goals.
U.S. Embassy Statement
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The polling process is complete. 1 025 406 voters took part in elections, which is 49.09% of the total number of voters. 478 642 voters participated in the polling in the capital during the day (47,7%). The COVID-19 regulations were fully adhered to at the polls. Procedural inaccuracies were detected in certain cases, though they did not cause the termination of the voting process. I would like to thank voters for being active and for following COVID-19 regulations during the polling process. Additionally, I would like to thank members of election commissions at all levels and employees for well-administering the elections. I would like to extend my gratitude to involved parties, observers, and the media.
A special, full of responsibility phase of vote counting is starting right now for the election administration. I would like to urge election commissions of all levels to follow the norms defined by the election legislation. Polling stations were closed at 20:00 according to the legislation and right now the vote-counting process is underway. Video recording of vote counting procedures is being conducted at those electoral precincts where the number of registered voters exceeded 300. After precinct election commissions’ (PECs) summary protocols are drawn up, they are being delivered to the district election commissions (DECs). The DECs will scan the PEC summary protocols and send them to the CEC in the shortest possible time. The CEC upon receipt of the PEC summary protocols will gradually upload them into special webpage results.cec.gov.ge.
Please see the following statistics - 1318 phone calls and 262 online messages were received at the CEC Contact Hub from 07:00 to 20:00. The vast majority of them concerned the voters’ request to verify their data in the list, specify addresses of their polling stations, and the election procedures. The election administration calls on all electoral stakeholders during their work to facilitate the election administration to carry out its duty in a peaceful environment so that the will of every voter is reflected and the vote-counting process is not disrupted.
