CEC’s New Rule for Precinct Commissions Fuels Fears of Election Influencing

On August 16, the Central Election Commission (CEC) issued a decree stating that the chairman of each precinct election commission must draw lots to distribute duties among commission members one week before the election, rather than on election day as previously required.

The new rule fueled fears that it would give authorities time to influence elections, drawing criticism from independent watchdogs and prompting the opposition to challenge the decree in court.

The new rule will allow the Georgian State Security Service to “know the identities of the people holding the most important positions a week in advance, which will allow it to influence them,” Giorgi Sioridze, the representative of the opposition Lelo for Georgia party in CEC, said on August 19. Lelo for Georgia is a member of the Strong Georgia, an election alliance of several opposition groups, which has now appealed the change in court.

The CEC defended the change by arguing that the electronic voting will be held in 2,262 precincts, which would require morning checks to ensure the machines are working properly. The decree also noted that under the old rules, the assignment of who would distribute mobile ballot boxes occurred a week before the election, while other duties were assigned on election day, leading to inconsistencies.

“Conducting the procedures of casting lots at different times will lead to inconsistency and may interfere with the organized conduct of the election process,” the CEC said in the decree.

But critics are skeptical about the need to introduce what they see as a risky change ahead of critical elections in October.

The CEC “adopted the disputed decree without proper justification and legitimate legal basis,” said the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), a judicial watchdog, in the “friend of the court” (amicus curiae) document that it contributed to the court dispute.

According to the document, the CEC is relying on the Election Code provision that allows the Commission to change the procedure and deadlines for casting lots in certain cases if it has become impossible to meet certain requirements established by this Code and/or to observe the deadlines. But the watchdog thinks the Commission failed to properly substantiate the latest change.

The GYLA also notes that past votes held with electronic machines have not led to any delays in opening the precincts, while the time for such procedures has already increased from 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes for all precincts.

The watchdog fears that this change undermines transparency, increases the risk of intimidation and pressure on commission members, and complicates the work of local and international election observers.

The Tbilisi City Court held the hearing in the early morning of August 20, and in the evening announced the decision not to accept the appeal of “Strong Georgia” and upheld the CEC’s decree.

Also Read:

• 13/06/2023 – Parliament Passes Amendments to Electoral Code Altering CEC Election Process
• 19/03/2024 – Parliament Overrides President’s Veto on Amendments to CEC Staffing Rules

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)