60 Precinct Election Commissions (PEC) are opened abroad to serve voters during the October 26, 2024 Parliamentary Elections of Georgia.

The Central Election Commission (CEC), on Thursday, said “Though some stakeholders actively made attempts to shift the issue of establishing PECs abroad from a legal matter to a political one to mislead the public.”

“The CEC has established the PECs for the Parliamentary Elections in 42 foreign countries based on the official data received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Georgia, as provided by the applicable law. Notably more PECs will be set up abroad for the October 26, 2024, Parliamentary Elections than were established for the 2020 Parliamentary Elections. Furthermore, PECs will be opened in foreign countries where none were present during the previous Parliamentary Elections or any other elections. These countries include the United Arab Emirates, Finland, Korea, Japan, and the Commonwealth of Australia,” reads the statement.

The CEC clarified that, per the relevant legislation, PECs are being formed overseas for a minimum of 50 and a maximum of 3,000 voters who are listed on the consular registry.

“Currently, Georgia’s legislation does not outline any regulations regarding the electoral participation of citizens of Georgia living abroad. In particular, the establishment of a PEC in a foreign country based on the submitted letters from the citizens of Georgia living abroad to the Election Administration (EA) of Georgia is not provided by the legislation. Therefore, the EA of Georgia strongly disapproves of using this issue as a basis for manipulations and attempts to form the wrong perceptions among the public.

Electoral participation of the citizens of Georgia living abroad as well as providing them with services on an equal basis with other voters stand among the key priorities of the EA of Georgia. It is of utmost importance for us to provide the citizens of Georgia living abroad with accurate information. For this reason, we would like to remind them of the legal provisions dealing with taking part in elections abroad.

For participation in elections, a voter who lives abroad shall be on the consular registry of Georgia or shall be registered abroad as per Georgia’s applicable legislation. In case the voter is not on the consular registry, or is not registered abroad, he/she has an opportunity to complete the registration procedures from the day of establishing PECs abroad to no later than October 7, at the diplomatic representation of Georgia, a consular institution, or a relevant PEC established abroad,” reads the statement.

The CEC said that Georgian residents residing abroad can vote in the October 26, 2024, Parliamentary Elections after completing the necessary requirements.

Detailed information regarding is available on the CEC official website.