“On election day, voters will receive instructions regarding the voting procedure from commission members,” CEC Chair Giorgi Kalandarishvili stated live on the Georgian Public Broadcaster’s program “All Questions to CEC”.

In the studio, the CEC Chairman presented the complete voting process for the elections.

Discussing the voting procedure, Kalandarishvili explained that upon arrival at the polling station, voters undergo marking and then have their ID card or passport verified by a machine. Subsequently, the ballot must be placed face-down in a designated privacy frame. In the voting booth, the voter uses a marker to colour only one circle next to their preferred political party. After exiting the booth, the voter takes the privacy frame, still face-down, to the optical scanner’s open slot. They insert the ballot into this slot and await confirmation that their vote has been accepted.

“Waiting for this confirmation is crucial because if the machine does not accept the ballot and it returns, which doesn’t happen due to sideways placement, it might mean the ballot is damaged and needs replacement. Consequently, if you leave the polling station without this confirmation, your ballot won’t be counted by the vote-counting machine, and you’ll lose your vote,” Kalandarishvili stated.

The CEC Chairman also noted that due to the elections for the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, the ballot will have data in two columns – one for the parliament and another for the Supreme Council. Voters should colour one circle in each respective column as desired.

“I should mention that 11 entities are participating in the Supreme Council elections. Additionally, for residents of Chokhatauri and Samtredia municipalities, where by-elections will be held to fill a vacant seat in the local single-mandate district of the City Council, I remind you that the ballot in these district boundaries will also be presented in two columns. In one case, the voter will choose a subject to participate in the parliamentary elections. In the other column, one part will be for Chokhatauri and the other for Samtredia,” Kalandarishvili explained.

He emphasized that a voter can’t cast a second vote in the elections. This is prevented by the marking procedure and the device, which will sound an alarm if an ID card or passport is presented again, as well as if the voter’s data is not in that precinct’s electoral list or if they are on the mobile ballot box list but appear at the polling station.

The CEC Chairman also stated that in the morning, after commission members ensure the vote-counting machine is empty, it will be sealed and activated. The machine will then produce a zero receipt, after which voting begins.

Giorgi Kalandarishvili also noted that if a mobile ballot box leaves a modernized polling station, a modified ballot with its privacy frame will be taken to the voter. When voters mark their choice at home, the ballot will be placed face-down in the privacy frame and sealed with appropriate fasteners to prevent it from falling out. When the polling station closes at 20:00 and the mobile ballot box opening procedure begins, these fasteners will be removed, and the ballots will be placed in the main ballot box using the same privacy frames.