Central Election Commission Chair: election administration operates with openness, transparency, high accountability to society

Giorgi Kalandarishvili, the Chair of the Georgian Central Election Commission (CEC), on Monday spoke out against what he described as deliberate attempts by various actors to discredit the institution during the election process.

He emphasised that the CEC remains committed to ensuring that the public receives verified and objective information.

Kalandarishvili underlined that the CEC operates with openness, transparency, and high accountability to society.

“The upcoming [local] elections [scheduled for October 4] will employ the same technological and progressive tools that were introduced in last year’s vote. These include voter verification devices, ballot-counting machines, and, importantly, the direct transmission of results from polling stations to the central servers via tablets. This innovation significantly speeds up the announcement of preliminary results”, the Chair said.

“We will implement active informational and educational campaigns, which will be provided by the placement of videos and various informational media. We carry out all activities openly and transparently, and we are distinguished by high accountability to the public”, he continued.

At the same time, Kalandarishvili criticized ongoing efforts by some stakeholders to undermine trust in the CEC.

“We continue to see active attempts to discredit the institution and overshadow its transparent work. In recent days, there have been efforts to manipulate public opinion with primitive issues. Despite this, we will ensure that the public has access to verified and objective information”, he concluded.