Registration of parties
1. To obtain the right to run in the elections of a municipality representative body Sakrebulo, a party shall submit to the CEC chairperson an appropriate application signed by its leader (leaders):
a) after the Sakrebulo elections are called, not later than the 57th day before Election Day if it meets one of the following conditions:
a.a) it was registered for the last parliamentary elections;
a.b) it has a representative in the Parliament of Georgia by the date the elections are called;
b) from 1 January to 15 July of the year of the elections of the municipality bodies, if it fails to meet any of the conditions under subparagraph (a) of this paragraph.
2. A party which fails to meet any of the conditions under paragraph (1)(a) of this article shall, within 60 days after a sample list of supporting voters is received but not later than 1 August, submit to the CEC the list of not less than25 000 voters supporting the party in the elections of a municipality representative body Sakrebulo. The list of supporters shall be verified by an appropriate CEC office under the procedure and within the time limit established by Article 38 of this Law. During the election period, the appropriate CEC office shall verify the lists of supporters and shall submit the report to the CEC chairperson within 2 days after the lists are submitted.
3. (Deleted – 7.3.2014, No 2093).
4. The application shall be attached with an excerpt from the register of political associations of citizens (parties) issued by the Legal Entity under Public Law operating under the Ministry of Justice of Georgia – the National Agency of Public Registry, before the application was submitted to the CEC, within the last 10 days, with indication of a person (persons) authorised to be the head/representative of a party. At the time of registration of the party, to verify/confirm the authenticity of the data in the excerpt issued by the Legal Entity under Public Law operating under the Ministry of Justice of Georgia – the National Agency of Public Registry, the Agency shall provide the CEC with the possibility of accessing the bases of electronic data and verification.
5. The application shall include the following information about the party:
a) the name and/or its abbreviated name, if such is indicated in the statute of the political party. Additionally, the names and surnames, or only surnames of no more than three leaders of a political party may be indicated. The name by which the political party has been registered shall remain unchanged on the ballot paper;
b) first name, last name, personal number of a citizen of Georgia, address (according to the identity card of a citizen of Georgia or the Agency database), telephone number and a specimen signature of the head officer (officers);
c) the last name, first name, address (according to the identity card of a citizen of Georgia or the Agency database), telephone number 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 and the abbreviated name of a political party referred to in paragraph 5(a) of this article shall not coincide with:
a) the official name and the abbreviated name of another party registered by the Ministry of Justice of Georgia (if they coincide, the political party may not use such name and abbreviated name);
b) the name and its short form used by another party/electoral bloc in the last parliamentary elections, if there is no consent from such party/electoral bloc.
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 paragraph 7 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 paragraph 2 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 paragraph 2 of this article). Otherwise, the CEC Chairperson shall, within the same timeframe, 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 it shall be provided to him/her upon request. These procedures shall be completed not later than the 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 timeframe 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 timeframe 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 it shall be provided to him/her upon request.
11. (Deleted – 21.7.2018, No 3266).
12. (Deleted – 21.7.2018, No 3266).
13. (Deleted – 21.7.2018, No 3266).
14. (Deleted – 21.7.2018, No 3266).
15. (Deleted – 21.7.2018, No 3266).
16. (Deleted – 21.7.2018, No 3266).
17. (Deleted – 21.7.2018, No 3266).
18. (Deleted – 21.7.2018, No 3266).
19. (Deleted – 21.7.2018, No 3266).
20. (Deleted – 21.7.2018, No 3266).
21. (Deleted – 21.7.2018, No 3266).
22. The CEC shall, not later than the 30th day before Election Day, publish on its official website the list of registered parties according to the order of submitting applications, and the list of parties that were refused registration, or whose registration was cancelled, and the reasons thereof.
Organic Law of Georgia No 2093 of 7 March 2014 – website, 14.3.2014
Organic Law of Georgia No 4715 of 24 December 2015 – website, 29.12.2015
Organic Law of Georgia No 5438 of 22 June 2016 – website, 12.7.2016
Organic Law of Georgia No 1274 of 26 July 2017 – website, 29.7.2017
Organic Law of Georgia No 3266 of 21 July 2018 – website, 13.8.2018
Organic Law of Georgia No 6723 of 2 July 2020 – website, 3.7.2020
Organic Law of Georgia No 6854 of 15 July 2020 – website, 28.7.2020
Organic Law of Georgia No 6855 of 15 July 2020 – website, 28.7.2020
Organic Law of Georgia No 703 of 28 June 2021 – website, 29.6.2021
