The Tbilisi City Court has rejected a lawsuit filed by Georgian Young Lawyers' Association, which alleged widespread violations of the right to vote secrecy during the parliamentary elections. GYLA had requested that the Tbilisi election results be declared invalid.
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“The case was considered by a recently appointed judge who was on probation. He had the opportunity to restore the public’s right to vote secrecy and trust in the court, but he did not seize this opportunity.
The court's lack of interest in thoroughly investigating the case became evident from the outset when the judge did not grant our two important requests - to examine the sealed ballots of randomly selected precincts and to involve the Central Election Commission as a third party in the case,” said Nona Kurdovanidze, adding that the Tbilisi City Court’s decision will be appealed to the Court of Appeal.
GYLA’s claims were also dismissed by judges in first-instance courts in other cities, which have already considered similar cases. According to Nona Kurdovanidze, “events are still relatively interesting in the Tetritskaro court,” where the judge plans to examine the ballots.
Last week, the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association filed complaints with 73 district election commissions, demanding that the results of all 2263 precincts where elections were held using technology be declared invalid. The organization claims that the right to vote secrecy was massively violated during the elections, as traces of a colored circle remained on the back of the ballots. Furthermore, Georgian Dream cameras were installed at almost all precincts, directed toward the vote counting and receiving machines. GYLA states that all 73 district election commissions dismissed the complaints with standard justifications, shifting the responsibility to the voters and asserting that if the relevant rules had been followed, the secrecy of the vote would have been preserved.
GYLA has appealed the decisions of the district election commissions in 24 district and city courts. If the complaints are upheld, it will lead to new elections.
