Municipal council by-elections to be held in Vani, Tsalka, Dmanisi, and Akhmeta on 3 October

“Local council by-elections will take place tomorrow, 3 October, across the municipalities of Vani, Tsalka, Dmanisi, and Akhmeta,” Central Election Commission (CEC) spokesperson Natia Ioseliani announced at a press briefing on Friday.

The spokesperson confirmed that the elections will be conducted under a majoritarian, first-past-the-post system.

“Voters will elect four majoritarian members to their respective municipal councils. Seven polling stations have been established across the four electoral districts, including four in Tsalka. Polling stations are located in Kasristskali (Akhmeta); between Velispiri and Ganakhleba (Dmanisi); in Imera, Bareti, Sabechisi, and Livadi (Tsalka); and in Pereta (Vani). Voting will feature both electronic systems and traditional ballot paper procedures,” Ioseliani said.

According to the CEC, electronic voter verification and automated vote-counting machines will be deployed at three polling stations in Tsalka and one in Vani.

The total electorate across the participating precincts stands at 2,225 registered voters, with 50 voters requesting mobile ballot box services.

Seven candidates nominated by two political parties have registered for the by-election. In Dmanisi, Tsalka, and Vani, candidates represent the ruling party Georgian Dream and the opposition coalition Strong Georgia – Lelo. In Akhmeta, Georgian Dream stands uncontested.

Fifty-six observers representing seven local non-governmental organisations will monitor the electoral process, with 187 accredited journalists from eight media outlets covering the vote.

“Voting will take place between 08:00 and 20:00. To vote, citizens must present a valid Georgian national identity card or passport. At polling stations using electronic voting technology, registrars will provide a ballot paper alongside a specialised secrecy frame-envelope. Voters must fill in the circle next to their chosen candidate using the provided marker pen and insert the ballot into the scanner using the secrecy envelope,” Ioseliani reminded.

“The automated counting machines will process votes continuously. Once polls close and statutory procedures are complete, preliminary result protocols will be printed and transmitted electronically to the CEC via tablet. These results will be published simultaneously on the official election results portal, results.cec.gov.ge,” she added.

For the three polling stations utilising traditional paper ballots, votes will be counted manually, scanned, and digitised before being uploaded to a secure online platform accessible to all stakeholders.

Voting remains strictly confidential, with photography and filming inside polling booths prohibited.

“The CEC contact centre (2 51 00 51) and our central media centre will operate continuously throughout polling day to provide real-time updates to press and stakeholders,” Ioseliani concluded.