Registration of electoral blocs/cancellation of registration

1. Parties registered by the CEC Chairperson shall have the right to establish an electoral bloc and to leave an electoral bloc. In order to register an electoral bloc, an application signed by authorised leaders of all parties united in the bloc and a copy of the statutes of the bloc shall be submitted to the CEC not later than the 43rd day before the day of a regular election.

2. An application shall include the following information about an electoral bloc:

a) name, in full or in short, and/or abbreviated name (if any) under which the bloc runs in the election, and the list of parties united in the bloc
b) first and last name, and address (according to the place of registration) of a leader(s)
c) first and last name, address (according to the place of registration), telephone number, and scope of powers of a representative
d) if there are several leaders, the scope of powers of each leader with relation to the electoral process.

3. The name, in full or in short, and/or the abbreviated name of an electoral bloc referred to in paragraph 2(a) of this article may not coincide with:

a) official name, in full or in short, and/or the abbreviated name of another party already registered by the Ministry of Justice of Georgia (in the case of coincidence, the bloc may not use the name);
b) name, in full or in short, and/or the abbreviated name of another electoral bloc running in elections if the bloc filed the application to the CEC earlier (in the case of coincidence, the bloc may not use the name);
c) name, in full or in short, and/or the abbreviated name used by another electoral bloc during the previous parliamentary elections, unless the consent thereto of the previously registered bloc is obtained.

4. The statutes of an electoral bloc, signed by the leaders of all parties united in the bloc, shall include:

a) name, in full or in short, and/or the abbreviated name (if any) of the electoral bloc under which the bloc runs in the election
b) list of the parties united in the electoral bloc 
c) governing body (if any) of the electoral bloc, leaders and their powers
d) procedure for decision-making within the electoral bloc, including the procedures for acceptance, withdrawal or exclusion of a party from the bloc, nomination of candidates for a representative body by the bloc, and cancellation of such nomination
e) person(s) authorised to sign electoral bloc documents on behalf of the electoral bloc
f) procedure for using the seal of one of the electoral bloc member parties during election activities
g) procedure for appointment of the persons in charge of election campaign expense, the manager, and the accountant
h) procedure for making amendments to the electoral bloc statutes.

5. A party member of one electoral bloc may not be a member of another electoral bloc, or may not run independently in the same election.

6. The CEC Chairperson shall, upon the acceptance of an application and statutes as referred to in the first paragraph of this article, give to the representative of an electoral bloc a document evidencing the submission of the above application and statutes.

7. The respective CEC office shall verify an application and statutes submitted as referred to in the first paragraph of this article and shall submit its report to the CEC Chairperson not later than the day after the filing of an application. The CEC Chairperson shall, not later than the day after the receipt of the report, provide electoral registration of an electoral bloc and its representative if the submitted documents meet the requirements defined in paragraphs 1-5 of this article. If the submitted documents do not meet the above requirements, the CEC Chairperson shall notify the electoral bloc representative, in writing, about non-compliance of the documents with the provisions of this Law (specifying the details of non-compliance). Corrected documents shall be re-submitted to the CEC not later than the second day after notification. The CEC Chairperson shall make a final decision on registration within two days after acceptance of the corrected documents. If the corrected documents meet the requirements of this Law, the CEC Chairperson shall register the electoral bloc and its representative. Otherwise, the CEC Chairperson shall issue an ordinance refusing registration (the ordinance shall specify the reasons for the refusal to provide electoral registration and the applicable provisions of this Law that are the basis for refusal).
A representative of the electoral bloc shall immediately be notified about the ordinance and a copy of the ordinance shall be provided to the representative upon request. The registration procedure referred to in this paragraph shall end on the 37th day before Election Day.

8. A party having gone through electoral registration may join a registered electoral bloc prior to the expiration of the term for registration of electoral blocs. For these purposes, the party shall, with consent of the bloc, file an application with the CEC Chairperson.

9. The CEC Chairperson by an ordinance shall, upon registration of an electoral bloc, cease the powers of representatives of the parties united in the bloc to all election commissions. The electoral bloc may appoint 2 representatives to each election commission.

10. If a party (parties) withdraws or is expelled from an electoral bloc before the expiration of the deadline for nomination of party lists/candidates, each of them may continue running in elections. If only one party remains in an electoral bloc for the above reason, the CEC shall by ordinance cancel the electoral registration of the electoral bloc, and the parties previously united in the bloc may continue running in elections. 

11. If a party withdraws or is expelled from an electoral bloc after the expiration of the deadline for nomination of party lists/candidates, the CEC Chairperson shall by ordinance cancel the electoral registration of the party. If only one party remains in the bloc for the above reason, the CEC shall by ordinance cancel electoral registration of the electoral bloc and the party remaining shall be the legal successor of the bloc.

12. The CEC shall publish the list of registered electoral blocs on its official website in the order of submitting applications, not later than the 30th day before Election Day, as well as the list of the electoral blocs that have been denied registration or the registration of which has been cancelled, specifying the reasons for the denial or cancellation.

13. A party/electoral bloc registered according to this Law may, on the basis of its application, take part in elections at all levels to be held until the following parliamentary elections. A party united in an electoral bloc shall have the right to run, either independently or as a part of another electoral bloc, in elections at all levels to be held until the following parliamentary elections.

14. The CEC Chairperson shall by ordinance cancel the registration of an electoral bloc provided that:

a) the bloc applies for cancellation;
b) the electoral bloc dissolves or only one party remains in the bloc due to abandoning the bloc by a member party (parties), or because of its (their) expulsion, or cancellation of electoral registration;
e) the electoral bloc fails to submit a party list or the submitted party list is not registered;
f) the number of candidates in the bloc party list, not later than the second day before Election Day, is less than the minimum number defined in this Law.