‘Modest’ Voter Turnout in Telavi MP By-Election
Voter turnout in a majoritarian MP by-election in Telavi constituency in the eastern region of Kakheti on Sunday was "modest" and there have been "no serious violations" at the polling stations, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).
CEC has yet to announce final voter turnout; the figure stood at 25.8% as of 5pm local time – three hours before the polling stations were closed. There are about of 56,900 voters registered in the Telavi constituency. There is no minimum turnout threshold for the polls to be valid.
Candidates from the ruling National Movement party,Christian-Democratic Movement (CDM) and Industrialists party have been contesting for a vacant majoritarian seat in the Parliament in the Sunday’s MP by-election.
An election watchdog group, International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), which monitored MP by-elections in Telavi, said that most of the "procedural shortcomings" were observed at several polling stations in Karajala, the village outside Telavi, which is populated predominately by the ethnic Azerbaijanis. ISFED said there were cases when voters there had problems in marking favorite candidates on the Georgian-language ballot papers and were doing it with the help of family members or other voters at polling stations.
Majoritarian seat in the Parliament from the Telavi constituency became vacant after Gia Arsenishvili, a ruling party lawmaker, who chaired parliamentary committee for human rights, died of heart attack in November 2010.
