TI Georgia: CEC’s New Rule for Drawing Lots in Precinct Commissions Violates Election Code

On August 29, Transparency International Georgia issued a statement on the CEC’s new decree, saying that the changes outlined undermine the transparency of the electoral process and violate the Election Code. According to the changes, the rules for drawing lots to distribute duties among commission members will be held one week before the election, rather than on election day as previously required.

TI-Georgia emphasizes that the duties of the commission members, especially the voter registrar and the flow regulator, are very important to make sure that no one votes more than once, thus ensuring that the elections are fair and free. Previously, the drawing of lots procedure was held at the precincts on the election day from 7 to 8 a.m. and all the CSO representatives, international observers, political party representatives could observe the process. TI-Georgia says that as a result of the new rule adopted by the CEC, it is practically impossible to mobilize a large-scale observation resources to specifically observe the lottery procedure in more than 3,000 precincts opened in Georgia and outside its borders 7 or more days before the elections.

The CEC justifies the legal basis for making these changes based on Article 14, Part 1, Subsection “C” of the Election Code of Georgia, which states that “in exceptional cases” the CEC has the right to change some requirements/deadlines if it is impossible to meet them and ensure smooth operation during the election day.

TI Georgia notes that the CEC ignores another subsection of the same Article 14, which outlines that the CEC is empowered to determine issues related to other election procedures, except for Election day procedures. “The mentioned exception directly prohibits the CEC from making any changes in the election day procedures.”

The watchdog also notes that the CEC does not even fully comply with subsection “C”, which it uses to justify the changes, since the decree does not explain which exactly “exceptional case” occurred that made it impossible to hold the procedure on election day. “During the 2023 midterm elections, which used the same electronic technologies and procedures that will be used for the October 26 parliamentary elections, there were no problems with the voting [duties distribution lottery] process,” TI Georgia adds.

The organization calls on the Central Election Commission to cancel the adopted decree and to respect the deadline set by the Election Code for the implementation of the lottery procedure.

The same calls were also made by the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) in its Amicus Curiae issued on August 20.

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

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