“The issue concerning Georgian voters abroad has been manipulated,” stated Giorgi Kalandarishvili, Chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), during an appearance on GPB First Channel’s program “All Questions to CEC.”

“The sole prerequisite for the establishment of electoral districts is the information provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which requires at least 50 individuals to be registered at the consulate. This information serves as the basis for the CEC. Without the support of the relevant CEC members, based on the Foreign Ministry’s data, over 100,000 citizens would have been unable to participate in the elections. I want to thank all my colleagues who supported this decision and took responsibility for the process, which has often been misrepresented.

Our compatriots living abroad were misled into thinking it was possible to create an additional electoral district based solely on personal statements and 50 signatures. This is not feasible, as our legislation does not allow for the creation of additional districts. Furthermore, such provisions are extremely rare in Europe and globally, with only one or two isolated exceptions that come with specific regulations or criteria aligned with current legislative standards,” Kalandarishvili clarified.

According to him, the number of individuals registered at consulates has become a subject of manipulation, with claims that more than 128,000 individuals are listed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs database, while the CEC allegedly refers to only 65,000.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has clarified that this figure includes individuals under 18 and those who have previously been consular registrants. This explanation fully addresses the issue; however, some parties continue to manipulate the situation,” Kalandarishvili stated.

As the CEC Chair noted, the assertion that the Foreign Ministry provided data on 68,000 individuals to the CEC, which then established its figures based on 65,508 active voters registered at consulates, has also been presented in a manipulative manner.

“If we perform the appropriate calculations, we find that there are 2,516 individuals who were not included in this count because they lacked valid documentation and, consequently, the right to vote. As a result, the CEC established 60 polling stations across 53 cities in 42 countries,” Kalandarishvili explained.

Giorgi Kalandarishvili urged Georgian citizens living abroad to visit diplomatic representations and complete their registration, as “there is still time for those who wish to vote.”