ISFED says verification of parallel vote tabulation consistent with results announced by Central Election Commision

The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy on Sunday announced that the verification of the parallel vote tabulation was consistent with the results announced by the Central Election Commision of Georgia.

“The results of the October 26 parliamentary election, regardless of the outcome, cannot be seen as truly reflecting the preferences of Georgian voters. Although ISFED’s PVT results verification is consistent with the results announced by the CEC, the PVT results verification cannot be used as a measure of the validity of the electoral process because fundamental flaws in pre-election and election day processes impacted voters’ ability to express their free choice”, the statement said.

ISFED further noted that the violations identified during the pre-election period, such as voter pressure, intimidation, confiscation of identity cards, collection and processing of personal data, and voter bribery, had significantly damaged trust in the election.

“On election day, ISFED documented serious violations, such as ballot stuffing of ballot papers, multiple voting, unprecedented levels of voter bribery, expulsion of observers from polling stations, as well as instances of mobilising voters outside polling stations, collecting their personal data, and controlling their voting intentions. According to ISFED’s assessment, given the combination of these violations, the results cannot reflect the will of the voters. As a result, ISFED will not release precise PVT estimates. ISFED continues to monitor and analyse the evolution of electoral processes”, the statement noted.

According to the data from 3,110 polling stations, the support for the Georgian Dream party stands at 53.92 percent, while the four opposition coalitions have a combined total of 37.786 percent.