Joint Assessment on Elections by ISFED, My Vote, and GYLA: Elections Neither Free nor Fair
International Society for Fair Elections And Democracy (ISFED), My Vote and Georgia’s Association of Young Lawyers (GYLA), three election monitoring organizations, have issued joint assessment the October 26 parliamentary elections, noting that the elections results “can not be considered as free and fair.”
The watchdogs say that the October 26 elections displayed multiple well-documented irregularities identified by three independent domestic election observation missions, whose combined 3,500 observers reported widespread, systematic violations “that cast serious doubt on the election legitimacy.” The organizations say that their detailed findings’ analysis “reveals a consistent pattern on manipulation that suggest the election was rigged to favor the ruling party.”
ISFED’s findings highlights irregularities, such as vote-buying and multiple voting, violations of inking procedures, unnatural deviations in female and male voter turnout, etc. According to ISFED, the elections did not reflect the true preferences of the public. ISFED concluded that while its Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) results matched the results announced by the CEC, such a match did not validate the election due to the systematic pre-election intimidation, voter control and bribery. ISFED concluded that the combination of these factors, with manipulation on election day and restricted access for observers, rendered the elections unrepresentative of the true will of the people.
My Vote speaks of “ID cards confiscation, data gathering and unauthorized presence”, that created a coercive environment, as well as ballot secrecy breach, systematic obstruction of observers, improper marking, etc. MyVote concludes that “the election irregularities were not random, but a part of a calculated scheme to distort the final results.” The alliance of watchdogs also says that a system of ID card confiscations, data gathering, and unauthorized presence created a coercive environment, stressing the alleged complicity by state actors in facilitating election fraud.
The GYLA also reported violations related to ballot secrecy and voter intimidation, inconsistent checking of marking of voters and obstruction of observers. It concluded that the elections took place in an environment marked by significant violations, largely characterized by inequality, violence, and tension. Moreover, GYLA says, that the principle of voter secrecy was widely violated, infringing on electoral rights guaranteed by the constitution.
Earlier this week President Salome Zurabishvili appealed to the Constitutional Court alleging violations of the constitutional principles of secrecy of vote and universal suffrage. The President’s appeal was registered by the Court on 20 November without any additional information on the admissibility of the complaint. 30 Members of the Parliament have also filed a similar complaint with the Constitutional Court.
GYLA had appealed to the Prosecutors Office, urging to investigate violations on the election day and to precinct commissions to annul the election results in precincts where electronic voting technology was used. My Vote also called on the Prosecutor’s office to launch investigation against CEC members. However, the Prosecutor’s Office rejected both complaints.
On November 7, 2024 Tbilisi Court of Appeals rejected appeals by GYLA and My Vote regarding alleged violations of ballot secrecy.
Also Read:
- 20/11/2024 – Explainer | What Does President’s Constitutional Appeal Mean for the New Parliament
- 19/11/2024 – President Zurabishvili Challenges the Constitutionality of Elections in Court
- 30/10/2024 – GYLA Files for Annulment of All Machine-Voting Precinct Results
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