Certain election measures and time limits defined for preventing the spread of the infection (COVID-19) caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)
1. The Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia is obliged to submit to the CEC not later than the 10th day before voting the information on the number of voters placed in inpatient facilities, infected with new coronavirus and those placed in quarantine areas and on their places of location.
2. Based on the information provided in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article and the recommendation of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia to the CEC, the CEC shall make a decision, by a decree, on the expediency of conducting the voting at the locations defined by paragraph 1 of this article.
3. If the CEC makes the decision to conduct voting at the locations defined by paragraph 1 of this article:
a) voters placed in inpatient facilities, the infected with the novel coronavirus and those placed in quarantine areas shall participate:
a.a) in the elections of the Parliament of Georgia to be held under the proportional election system;
a.b) in the elections of the Parliament of Georgia to be held under the majoritarian election system, if their registration address and their location specified in this paragraph are located within the borders of the same majoritarian electoral district;
a.c) elections of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara to be held under the proportional election system, if their registration address and their location specified in this paragraph are in the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara;
a.d) elections of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara to be held under the majoritarian election system, if their registration address and their location specified in this paragraph are in the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara;
a.e) in the elections of the municipality representative body – Sakrebulo, mayoral elections of a self-governing city (including Tbilisi city)/self-governing community, extraordinary mayoral election of a municipality and by-elections of the municipality representative body – Sakrebulo, if their registration address and their location specified in this paragraph are located within the borders of the same municipality/local majoritarian electoral district;
b) the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia is obliged to submit to the CEC not later than the 6th day before polling, a list of persons who, on the voting day, will be placed in quarantine areas/inpatient medical institutions/self-isolation due to the novel coronavirus infection;
c) not later than the 3rd day before polling, on the basis of the data transferred in accordance with subparagraph b) of this paragraph and the data of the members of the relevant special group, the CEC shall approve special lists, in which the entry moved to the special list’ is made in the unified list of voters along with the last name and first name of the registered voters;
d) a voter specified in subparagraph (c) of this paragraph, who has been transferred to a special list, is obliged to submit a certificate issued by the relevant agency of the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, which confirms the fact and date of his/her departure from his/her place of location specified in paragraph 1 of this article. The mentioned certificate shall be attached to the election documents;
e) the types of ballot papers issued to the members of the special group included in the special list shall be issued in the same manner as defined by this Law for the members of other election commissions included in the special list;
f) a voter included in the special list defined by this article shall vote through a mobile ballot box or at a polling station established at the location specified in this article. The CEC shall resolve the matter by a decree, and matters related to voting by registered voters, assignment to the main polling stations if necessary, duration of the polling day, counting of votes, participation of observers and representatives of electoral subjects, and matters related to voting procedures and the drafting of the summary protocol.
4. For conducting elections in the cases provided for by paragraphs 1-3 of this article, as well as in the case of origination of such circumstances in other election commissions when a member (members) of the election commission or the entire election commission fails (fail) to perform his/her (their) duties due to the health condition or circumstances related to such condition, the CEC shall set up a special group (special groups) by an ordinance and approve its (their) composition and the scope of its (their) authority. The special group shall consist of not more than 17 members (if necessary, less number of members may be defined by the CEC). The members of the special group must comply with the requirements set by this law for members of the Precinct Election Commission. Eight members of a special group, including the head officers of the special group, shall be appointed by the CEC immediately after the group is set up. Nine members of the special group shall be appointed within two days after the group is set up, and if less than two days are left before voting, the above 9 members shall be appointed on the same day by the parties that have the right, under this law, to appoint members of the commission. If a party fails to enjoy this right within the period set by this paragraph, the CEC shall have the right to fill the composition of the special group, as necessary, to the set number of members by appointing the group members.
5. If a PEC has failed to hold the first session or failed to elect the head officer (officers) of the commission, the Chairperson of a respective DEC shall be granted the right, at the first opportunity, for the purposes determined by this paragraph, to define, by an ordinance, the date of convening a new session of the PEC and its agenda.
6. If, on the polling day, the number of PEC members turns out to be less than 9, the PEC shall be deemed transformed into a special group and the special group shall be granted the right to conduct polling. A majority of the current number of members shall be defined as a quorum of the special group. Members of the special group shall be assigned the functions without casting lots by the Chairperson. If, on the polling day, it turns out that the current number of members of the special group cannot guarantee the conduct of polling, the respective DEC shall immediately meet together and shall, by an ordinance, add as many members to the current number of members of the special group as to guarantee the conduct of polling.
7. If the number of a DEC members turns out to be less than 9 and the procedure provided for by paragraph 4 of this article cannot be conducted, the DEC shall be deemed transformed into a special group and the special group shall exercise powers conferred on the DEC by the legislation of Georgia. A majority of the current number of members shall be defined as a quorum of the special group.
8. To prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the CEC may, as necessary, define the following, by a decree:
a) the sanitary and hygienic requirements for entering/leaving and staying/moving in the buildings owned and/or transferred to the election commissions by the persons authorized by this Law, as provided for by the legislation of Georgia and the recommendations developed by the relevant agencies;
b) to prevent the spread of the infection (COVID-19) caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the period for setting up election commissions at the penitentiary institutions of the state sub-agency institution within the system of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia – the Special Penitentiary Service, for staffing of PECs/special groups, the period for implementing certain electoral measures and the sanitary and hygienic procedures;
c) conditions for conducting thermal screenings in the polling station for members of election commissions, representatives of election commissions, representatives of electoral subjects, observers of observer organisations and accredited representatives of the press and mass media, actions to be taken in the case of the detection of temperature, as well as rules for mandatory use of face masks, disinfectants, maintaining of social distance, if necessary, by persons entitled to be present in the polling station (including by voters) and decisions to be taken in cases of refusal to implement measures defined by the CEC decree by the aforementioned persons. If the CEC determines the obligation to wear a face mask, the CEC will ensure the transfer of the face masks to the relevant persons. A person without a face mask will not be allowed in the polling station/election commission building, except for the case where the wearing of a face mask is not possible due to the health condition of a person, which must be confirmed by the person by the relevant medical document;
d) other matters not covered by this article, which, together with the conduct of the election process in accordance with the Georgian legislation, ensure the prevention of the possible spread of the novel coronavirus.
9. The CEC shall, not later than the 30tth day before polling, make a decision, by a decree, on the expediency of establishing polling stations and conducting voting in another state, based on the information provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia on the current epidemiological situation in another state.
Organic Law of Georgia No 6723 of 2 July 2020 – website, 3.7.2020
Organic Law of Georgia No 703 of 28 June 2021 – website, 29.6.2021
