Local self-government elections underway in Georgia

Local self-government elections are taking place in Georgia, with citizens voting to elect municipal council members and mayors for a four-year term.

Georgians are casting their ballots to select representatives to 64 local councils (Sakrebulo) and 64 mayors across the country.

The elections combine both majoritarian and proportional systems, and this year’s vote involves a wide field of candidates and political parties.

According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), 12 political parties are registered nationwide, with nine mayoral candidates in Tbilisi alone.

Across the other 63 municipalities, a total of 112 mayoral candidates are running, including four nominated by initiative groups.

In addition, 2,228 majoritarian candidates have been registered, 32 of whom were nominated independently.

In Tbilisi, voters will choose from 160 majoritarian candidates for the city’s local council. Overall, 2,058 council members will be elected countrywide.

The elections are being conducted at 3,061 polling stations, of which 2,284 are equipped for electronic voting and 777 operate using traditional paper ballots.

Ten special polling stations have also been established in penitentiary institutions.

Voting began at 08:00 and will close at 20:00, with all voters in line at closing time permitted to cast their ballots.

The total number of registered voters for the municipal elections is 3,513,818. Of these, 3,130,348 voters will participate using electronic technologies.

A total of 60,754 voters have requested mobile ballot boxes, and approximately 34,000 election administrators are managing the process.

The right to vote is granted to all Georgian citizens who have reached or will reach the age of 18 by Election Day and meet the conditions set by the Electoral Code.

According to the CEC, approximately 47,000 young people will have the opportunity to vote for the first time this year.

Citizens of Georgia who are serving sentences in penitentiary institutions for particularly serious crimes or who have been recognised by a court as requiring support and are placed in relevant inpatient medical facilities do not have the right to participate in elections, referendums, or plebiscites.

Voting is possible only by personally appearing at a polling station or, in cases specified by the Electoral Code, through a mobile ballot box.