Georgian authorities want to ban citizens from voting in elections from abroad

The ruling party of Georgia is going to ban citizens of the country living outside its borders from participating in elections from abroad. This was reported by Echo of the Caucasus with reference to the statement of the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili.

According to the current Electoral Code, non-residents cannot vote in municipal elections, but have the right to participate in parliamentary elections, for which polling stations are opened abroad.

After the amendments to the legislation, citizens will be able to vote in the parliamentary elections in Georgia only on the territory of the country, similar to municipal elections. According to Papuashvili, this innovation does not restrict voting rights, but only establishes the "place and boundaries" of voting.

According to him, nothing changes in the voting rights of citizens who are in another country.

"The change relates to the procedure and means that, as in the local elections, it will be possible to vote in the parliamentary elections only within the state territory of Georgia. As before, every Georgian citizen will have the full right and opportunity to participate in the elections. The only condition is to come home once every four years and vote in Georgia," said the Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia.

He added that infrastructure for voting outside Georgia will no longer be created.

Papuashvili assured that this "increases the sustainability of elections, reduces the influence of external players and ensures a more adequate and informed choice." This model is allegedly already in place in Armenia, Israel, Malta and Ireland.

He believes that "the 2024 parliamentary elections have clearly shown how open and brutal information and political pressure on voters from the outside can be." The speaker of the Georgian parliament also said that other changes will be made to the current Electoral Code, but has not yet specified which ones.

• On November 6, it was reported that Georgia had launched criminal prosecution of eight opposition members under articles on sabotage and calls to overthrow the government.