Court Orders CEC to Open Polling Stations in Iraq, Kosovo

A court in Tbilisi has instructed the Central Election Commission (CEC) to adopt a resolution to allow about 2,100 Georgian soldiers in Iraq and Kosovo to vote in the January 5 presidential election.

The CEC failed on December 11 to endorse a proposal on opening polling stations in Iraq and Kosovo after six opposition-nominated members of the commission voted against it. They cited a Georgian constitutional provision, which stipulates that elections should not be held if there is ?a state of emergency or martial law.? The authorities, however, rejected that rationale, saying the relevant constitutional provision refers only to Georgia itself and not to foreign countries. The appeal, brought by the ruling National Movement party, was in fact based on this line of argument.
 
?According to the court ruling, the Central Election Commission should immediately implement this ruling,? MP Levan Bezhashvili, chairman of the parliamentary committee for legal issues, said on December 17. He added that the court ruling was ?absolutely legal and justified.?

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