“The Georgian Dream deprives immigrants, who contribute significantly to the country’s economic life, of their fundamental right to participate in Georgian politics,” said Giorgi Sioridze, a member of the Lelo-Strong Georgia party.

According to Sioridze, if it was previously the Central Election Commission (CEC) that created obstacles for fellow citizens abroad, it is now legislation that explicitly bans their participation in elections.

“We witnessed our citizens, who travelled hundreds of kilometres and waited for hours in queues, casting their ballots at polling stations abroad during the 2024 parliamentary elections. We saw that in environments where the elections were relatively free and less susceptible to manipulation, the Georgian Dream secured only 13% of the votes. This is why the regime fears immigrants and seeks to restrict their voting rights, which are guaranteed by the constitution.

The Lelo-Strong Georgia party and I, as an opposition member on the CEC and a former Deputy Chair, fought tirelessly to open more polling stations abroad. We fought both within the CEC and in the courts. However, while it was once the CEC that created barriers for our fellow citizens abroad, it is now legislation that outright bans their participation in elections.

Moreover, it is deeply cynical how they obligate our compatriots to return to Georgia once every four years to vote. This is reminiscent of Russian tactics, and the Georgian Dream is the force implementing these directives. We will do everything possible to safeguard their voting rights,” Sioridze stated.

On November 17, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili announced an upcoming change to the voting process for non-resident citizens. The new rule will require voters to return to Georgia every four years to cast their ballot. An amendment to Georgia’s Election Code reflecting this change has already been introduced to Parliament.