The Central Election Commission (CEC) issued a statement to clarify the procedures for nominating mayoral candidates for participating parties and voters’ initiative groups, along with related updates.

According to the CEC, parties registered for municipal elections may nominate one mayoral candidate per municipality, whilst voters’ initiative groups may nominate only one candidate under electoral legislation.

“Registered parties must submit documents for mayoral candidate electoral registration to the respective regional electoral commission chairperson, or to the CEC chairperson for Tbilisi mayoral candidates, no later than 30 days before election day (September 4). For voters’ initiative groups, this must be completed no later than 47 days before Election Day, which is August 18. The same person cannot be nominated as a mayoral candidate for more than one municipality.

The registered party or voters’ initiative group must attach to their nomination statement a declaration of party affiliation, completed and signed by the mayoral candidate, along with signatures certified by the party leadership or members of the initiative group.

The party affiliation declaration must include the candidate’s personal details (name, surname, Georgian citizen ID number) and completion date, specifying whether they belong to the nominating party (for registered party nominations), are non-partisan, or if they left a party within the six months before submitting the candidacy application, in which case they must state the exact withdrawal date and party name. If the candidate belongs to another party registered under Georgia’s Organic Law on Political Unions of Citizens, the party name must be specified.

A mayoral candidate will not be registered, or an already registered candidate’s registration will be cancelled by order of the respective electoral commission chairperson, if it emerges that the candidate belongs to another party registered under Georgia’s Organic Law on Political Unions of Citizens.

Additionally, applications must include a registration card, completed and signed by the mayoral candidate, a certificate of deprivation of rights, a photocopy of Georgian citizenship documents or passport, and two photographs. The Ministry of Internal Affairs Service Agency issues the deprivation of rights certificates.

The registration card must specify each candidate’s surname, name, birth date, gender, address (according to citizenship documents or agency database), Georgian citizen ID number, contact telephone, workplace (or ‘unemployed’ if applicable), position or occupation, six-month residency in Georgia, consent to stand for the respective municipality’s mayoral election, signature and signature date.

For mayoral candidates nominated by voters’ initiative groups, the group’s representative must submit a list of supporting voters to the relevant electoral commission no later than 40 days before voting (August 25). The minimum number of supporters by electoral district was determined by CEC Order No. 113/2025 of August 5, 2025,” the CEC stated.