Registration of parties/electoral blocs

1. To obtain the right to run for a Sakrebulo, a party/electoral bloc shall apply to the CEC chairperson with an appropriate application signed by its leader(s):

a) after the Sakrebulo elections are called, but not later than the 57th day before Election Day, provided the party/electoral bloc meets one of the following conditions:
a.a) was registered in the last parliamentary election;
a.b) has a representative in the Parliament of Georgia on the day the elections are called; b) from 1 January to 15 July of the year of the elections for municipal bodies, if the party fails to meet any of the conditions under subparagraph (a) of this paragraph.

2. A party failing to meet any of the conditions under paragraph (1)(a) of this article shall, within 60 days after receiving a sample form of the list of supporting voters, but not later than 1 August, submit to the CEC a list of at least 1 000 voters, provided that such party is a qualified electoral subject, but if it is not a qualified electoral subject, a list of at least 25 000 voters (the number shall not exceed 1% of the total number of voters) supporting the party’s participation in the municipal representative body Sakrebulo elections. The appropriate CEC office shall verify the list of supporting voters under the procedure and within the time frame provided for in Article 38 of this Law. During the election period, the appropriate CEC office shall verify the lists of supporting voters and present a report to the CEC chairperson within two days after the list is submitted.

3. (Deleted – 7.3.2014, No 2093).

4. The application shall have attached either a certificate of registration of the party and its statutes, or copies of these documents attested by a notary.

5. The application shall include the following information about the party:

a) the name, in full or in short, and/or abbreviation, under which it runs in the election
b) first name, last name, address (according to the identity card of a citizen of Georgia or the Agency database), telephone number and a specimen signature of the leader(s)
c) the last name, first name, address (according to the identity card of a citizen of Georgia or the Agency database), telephone number and scope of authority of the representative
d) in case there are several heads – the scope of powers for each head with respect to the election process.

6. The name, in full or in short, and the abbreviation referred to in paragraph 5(a) of this article shall not coincide with:

a) the official name, short title or abbreviation of another party registered by the Ministry of Justice of Georgia (if it coincides, the party may not use it)
b) the title, short title or abbreviated name of the electoral bloc under which it participates in the elections, if this bloc has applied to the CEC earlier (if it coincides, the party may not use it)
c) the name, short title or abbreviation used by another party/electoral bloc during the previous parliamentary elections, unless that party/bloc gives its consent.

7. The designated office of the CEC shall verify the application and its attached documents and shall submit its report to the CEC Chairperson not later than the day following submission of the application.

8. Not later than the day following submission of the report referred to in the seventh paragraph of this article, the CEC Chairperson shall:

a) register the party and its representative for election purposes if the application filed and the documents attached meet the requirements of this Law;
b) submit a written notification to a representative of the party about any non-compliance of the filed application and the attached documents with the provisions of this Law (specifying the details of non-compliance) and give the party two days after receipt of notice for correction of the application and documents.
c) in the case provided for by the second paragraph of this article, decide on the final registration of the party only after verifying the list of supporters.

9. A corrected application and documents provided for by paragraph 8(b) of this article shall be verified and the decision about electoral registration shall be made not later than the following day after their submission. If the corrected application and documents meet the requirements of this Law, the CEC Chairperson shall register the party and its representative for election purposes (except for cases provided for by the second paragraph of this article). Otherwise, the CEC Chairperson shall, within the same time frame, issue an ordinance refusing to provide electoral 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 party shall immediately be notified about the ordinance and shall be provided with a copy of the ordinance upon request. These procedures shall be completed no later than the on 37th day before Election Day.

10. If an application, attached documents (or a corrected application and documents), and the list of supporting voters under this article are submitted within the time frame defined in this Law and meet the requirements thereof, the CEC Chairperson shall, based on a report of the respective CEC office, register the party and its representative for election purposes not later than the day following submission of the report. Otherwise, the CEC Chairperson shall issue an ordinance within the same time frame about the refusal to provide electoral registration (the ordinance shall specify the reasons for the refusal to provide electoral registration and the provisions of this Law that are the basis for refusal). A representative of the party shall immediately be notified about the ordinance and shall be provided with a copy of the ordinance upon request.

11. Parties registered by the CEC may establish and abandon from an electoral bloc. In order to register an electoral bloc, not later than the 43rd day before Election Day, the CEC Chairperson shall be provided with the application signed by all authorised heads of all parties united in the bloc and the electoral bloc’s statute.

12. The application shall include the following information concerning the electoral bloc:

a) the name and, if applicable, short title and/or abbreviation of the bloc, under which it participates in the elections, as well as the list of the parties united in the bloc
b) first name, last name, address (according to the identity card of a citizen of Georgia or the Agency database) of the leader(s)
c) the last name, first name, address (according to the identity card of a citizen of Georgia or the Agency database), telephone number and scope of authority of the representative
d) in case there are several head(s) – the scope of powers of each head with respect to the election process.

13. Name of the electoral bloc, its short title and abbreviation referred to in paragraph 12(a) of this article shall not coincide with:

a) an official name, short title or the abbreviation of another party (except for the party united in the same bloc), registered by the Ministry of Justice of Georgia (if it coincides, the party shall have no right to use it)
b) a name, short title and abbreviation of another electoral bloc, under which it participates in the elections, if this bloc has applied to the CEC earlier (if it coincides, the bloc shall have no right to use it)
c) a name, short title and abbreviation used by another electoral bloc during the previous parliamentary elections, unless the other electoral bloc gives its consent.

14. The statutes of the electoral bloc signed by the heads of all parties united in the electoral bloc shall include:

a) the name and, if applicable, short title and/or abbreviation of the electoral bloc, under which the bloc participates in the elections
b) a list of parties united in the electoral bloc
c) the management body (if any) of the electoral bloc, head officials and their powers
d) the decision-making procedure of the electoral bloc, including the rules for admission, withdrawal and exclusion of a party from the bloc, and nomination and cancellation of nomination of candidates for membership of the representative body by the bloc
e) a person authorised to sign bloc documentation
f) the procedure for using the stamp of one of the parties united in the bloc in relation to election activities
g) the procedure for appointing persons responsible for election campaign expense, a manager and an accountant
h) the procedure for amending the statutes of the electoral bloc.

15. A party united in the electoral bloc shall not join another electoral bloc or independently participate in one and the same elections.

16. Upon receipt of the application and statutes referred to in the eleventh paragraph of this article, the CEC shall provide the representative of the bloc with a document confirming their receipt.

17. The respective CEC office shall verify the application and statutes referred to in the eleventh paragraph of this article, and shall submit its report to the CEC not later than the day following the filing of the application with the CEC Chairperson. The CEC Chairperson shall immediately register the electoral bloc and its representative if the submitted documents meet the requirements under paragraphs 12-15 of this article. If the submitted documents fail to meet the above requirements, the CEC Chairperson shall notify in writing the representative of the electoral bloc of the noncompliance of the documents with the provisions of this Law (detailing the non-compliance). Corrected documents shall be returned to the CEC not later than the next day following notification. Final decision on registration shall be made by the CEC Chairperson immediately after the receipt 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 denying 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). The representative of the electoral bloc shall immediately be informed of this ordinance and upon his/her request provided with a copy of the ordinance. These procedures shall be completed by the 37th day before Election Day.

18. A party that has been registered shall be authorised to join a registered electoral bloc before the expiration of the term for registration of electoral blocs. To that effect, the party shall submit to the CEC Chairperson an appropriate application along with the consent of the electoral bloc. 

19. Upon completion of registration of the electoral bloc the powers of representatives of party members united in the bloc in every election commission shall, by CEC Chairperson ordinance, be terminated and the bloc shall be authorised to appoint 2 representatives to each election commission.

20. In the case of withdrawal or exclusion of the party/parties from the electoral bloc before the expiration of the term for submission of party lists/candidates, each party shall be authorised to continue to participate in the elections. If, for this reason, only one party remains in the bloc, the electoral registration of the bloc shall be cancelled under the CEC Chairperson’s ordinance and the parties previously united in this bloc shall have the right to continue to participate in the elections.

21. In the case of withdrawal or exclusion of a party from an electoral bloc after expiration of the term for submission of party lists/candidates, registration of the party shall be cancelled by CEC Chairperson’s ordinance. If, for this reason, only one party remains in the bloc, the registration of the bloc shall be cancelled by CEC Chairperson’s ordinance and the remaining party shall become the successor of the bloc.

22. Not later than the 30th day before Election Day, the CEC shall publish on its official website the list of registered parties and electoral blocs listed in the order of submitted applications, as well as the list of the parties and electoral blocs that have been denied registration or whose registration has been cancelled, indicating the reasons for denial or cancellation.