Seven more polling stations abroad to be opened for Georgian emigrants for parliamentary elections

The Central Election Commission of Georgia has decided to open seven additional polling stations abroad for the parliamentary elections.

“During the October 26 parliamentary elections, 67 polling stations in 53 cities of 42 countries will serve Georgian citizens in different countries,” CEC Chairman Giorgi Kalandarishvili said today.

Additional polling stations will appear in New York, Berlin, Barcelona, Rome, Athens, Thessaloniki and Paris. There are already polling stations in all these cities and the issue is to increase their number.

President Salome Zurabishvili's administration has already responded to the decision. They pointed out that it “does not respond in any way to the requests of thousands of emigrants to open polling stations in major cities of Europe and the United States”. The administration urged to open at least one additional polling station in Strasbourg. It is noted that 400 compatriots are registered on consular registration there, and Georgia has a diplomatic mission.

“We call on the CEC to make an immediate decision to open a polling station in Strasbourg,” the administration said in a statement.

The CEC issued a decree to open 60 polling stations abroad on September 26. Since then, the number of Georgian emigrants with the right to vote in the elections has increased by 30,000, almost to 96,000.

The Central Election Commission opens additional polling stations in other states if at least 50 voters can vote there.

During the pre-election period, the opposition sharply criticized the CEC and the Georgian Foreign Ministry for ineffective work in this area. In their opinion, the authorities deliberately prevent the diaspora from participating in the elections.

Against the background of criticism, the CEC took some decisions that increased the number of citizens with the right to vote abroad. Thus, Georgian refugees with a registration address in the occupied territories were allowed to vote at their actual place of residence.

Opponents of the authorities believe that the Georgian Dream government deliberately applied all possible bureaucratic barriers in the process of opening polling stations.

Several recent elections have shown that there are few Georgian Dream supporters among emigrants. At polling stations abroad, the opposition takes almost twice as many votes.

Reprinted from https://www.newsgeorgia.ge/