Parliamentary elections kicked off in Georgia with a new electronic voting system and a fully proportional system. More than 3.5 million citizens, including those abroad, are eligible to vote.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili voted in the parliamentary elections, expressing confidence that today “Georgia will win”. This UNN reported with reference to NewsGeorgia.
“This time I voted for something, not someone. I voted for the new Georgia for which I came to this country 22 years ago, for which my ancestors prayed. I voted for the Georgia that I am sure all of Georgia is praying for. Tonight, we will all be winners. No one will lose because Georgia will win,” Zurabishvili said.
Parliamentary elections have begun in Georgia. Polling stations opened on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. local time nationwide except for occupied Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region.
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According to the Central Election Commission, there are 3,044 polling stations in Georgia. These include 13 special polling stations – 12 at penitentiary institutions and one at a psychiatric center. Also on the day of voting 67 polling stations will work outside Georgia – in 53 cities of 42 countries of the world.
3,508,294 citizens are eligible to vote, including 95,910 abroad.
In Georgia, voting is taking place in 84 electoral districts. The largest constituency is Batumi, where about 155,000 voters are registered. The smallest is Shuakhevi (about 14.5 thousand).
This election is the first in which electronic means of voting – voter verification and vote counting machines – are used en masse. Up to 90 percent of voters will use them. In 2,330 polling stations, including all abroad, voting will be conducted in the traditional form, according to the old rules.
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The parliament will be staffed according to new rules. For the first time, 150 deputies of the legislative body are elected not by a mixed system, as before, but by a fully proportional system.
In order to get into parliament, parties will have to overcome the five-percent threshold. Eighteen political entities are competing for parliamentary mandates.
Opinion polls give contradictory forecasts. The most likely scenario is that the ruling Georgian Dream and four other opposition forces will overcome the barrier.
If no party manages to win a majority of seats, a coalition government will have to be formed.
Supplement
Today, October 26, parliamentary elections are being held in Georgia, which may significantly affect the direction of the country's development.