Some IDPs Abroad Will Not Be Able to Vote in Elections

“They tell me that my residential address in Gali will be recorded, but neither my address in Paris nor Tbilisi will be. Because of this, I cannot participate in the elections. They explain that Abkhazia is an occupied territory, and therefore, elections are not held there. I used to take part in elections; I was on the CEC’s list and had an actual address in Tbilisi, with my father, who disappeared,” Tamar Demuria said in an interview with Mtavari Arkhi.

Several citizens, including Sopo Chilashvili, an IDP from Tskhinvali, report that in order to be included in the electoral list, they are asked to delete their current legal address and "get registered in Georgia." "What does it mean that we effectively acknowledge and abandon the territory for which we became IDPs?!" notes Sofo Chilashvili.

Lado Samushia, who lives in the United States and is registered at the Georgian consulate in New York, discovered that he was not on the CEC’s list and had to travel from Kansas to vote there.

“I thought I could go to the precinct, show my passport, and vote. It seems simple, but it's not. As it turns out, I will not be able to participate in the elections because I am not on the CEC list, and there is no way to get on the list. The problem is that I am officially registered at an address in Sukhumi. You cannot vote with this address because Sukhumi is occupied. If you want to register at another address (for example, in the USA or Tsalenjikha), you need to contact the Ministry of Justice, which will register you but remove the Sukhumi address. You are not allowed to keep your Sukhumi address and temporarily register at another address. This must be done by the Ministry of IDPs. However, the Ministry of IDPs cannot do this because your IDP status is suspended. Your IDP status is suspended because you have been living and working abroad for a long time. But you cannot register abroad because you are still registered in Sukhumi. In other words, if I were from Telavi, I would be able to vote from New York, but because I am from Sukhumi, I cannot.

The Ministry of IDPs cannot add my actual address to the list because, in their eyes, I am not officially an IDP. At the same time, the New York consulate cannot add me to the list because I am from Sukhumi.

I don’t mind anything. I will come to New York and walk on Broadway for a day, but is this how you intend to enter Europe with dignity?” Samushia wrote on Facebook.

The Central Election Commission has not provided an official explanation regarding this issue. "Let’s not turn something that is not a problem into a problem," said CEC Deputy Chairman Giorgi Sharabidze to TV Pirveli. According to him, the problem would exist if voters did not have the opportunity to verify their data.

"The fact that, as per the law, a certain segment of voters cannot participate in the elections is not news. There is a service available for everyone. Accordingly, any Georgian citizen interested in their status can check themselves on the list," said Sharabidze.

On September 26, the CEC adopted a decree creating 60 election precincts in 42 countries for 65 508 citizens with voting rights who are registered with consulates abroad. The opposition and emigrants are demanding the opening of additional precincts, which is why they have appealed the CEC’s decree in court. The city court upheld the CEC's decision, and the case is now being considered by the appellate court.

On this topic:

My Vote: Voter Count on Consular Registration Must Exceed 65,508