As of 10:00, observers from the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) reported three instances of voter bribery. The Prime Minister and head of the Georgian Dream election headquarters, Irakli Kobakhidze, dismissed this information as false.
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"We have identified cases of bribery in the first district of Tkibuli, the 17th district of Akhmet, and the 3rd district of Chugureti. In one instance, we documented a payment of 100 GEL," said Nino Dolidze, head of the organization.
She also reported that ISFED observers faced restrictions on their right to observe. Additionally, the organization raised concerns regarding the arrangement of some areas.
"Regarding restrictions on observation rights, I can tell you that in the 41st election precinct in Mtskheta, our observers were denied entry to the penitentiary after the precinct opened. Similarly, at the 58th polling station in the Rustavi electoral district, our observer was denied entry to the penitentiary. In the 9th election precinct of the Zugdidi election district, one of our observers was expelled from the election precinct, and a similar incident occurred in the 12th election precinct of Zugdidi, where our observer was asked to leave.
In terms of polling station setup, there has been a noticeable trend of tables being arranged in a way that, in some cases, prevents observers from monitoring the activities behind the registrars.
When observing new electronic technologies, it is crucial that observers can closely monitor verification devices, so proper arrangement of the area is essential. We observed issues with the setup at the 18th election precinct of the 67th electoral district, as well as at the 26th election precinct of the 16th electoral district. In one instance, the voting booths were positioned so close to the wall that our accredited observer was unable to monitor them.
We have also noted several cases where registrars issued more than one ballot per voter, specifically at the 15th election precinct in Kobuleti, the 51st precinct in Samgori, the 10th precinct in Batumi, the 3rd precinct in Kvareli, and the 31st precinct in Mtatsminda," Dolidze stated.
As of 10:00 a.m., Fair Elections observers had filed 10 complaints. According to Dolidze, the NGO’s observation mission covers approximately 1000 precincts, with 235 precincts in the outer perimeter, 45 overseas precincts, 73 National Election Commission observers, and 85 mobile teams.
