This year's parliamentary elections on October 26th was one of significance for the GZAAT community. It was the first time voting for a number of seniors. Teacher Irma Chelidze of the math department volunteered as an observer. Both groups shared their experiences with the gazette.
Senior Elene Mansvetashvili woke up excited on election day. Wanting to look great for her first time voting, she got started on choosing the perfect outfit for the day. Luckily, her assigned voting location was right next to her house, however she had to wait in a huge line. During the waiting process, her excitement only grew, but then it slowly turned into worrying about “accidentally making some sort of mistake”.
Elene says she considers the results disappointing, especially after spending months protesting about the gravity of Georgia’s situation with many others from our generation and thinking they finally had the chance to change the government for the better. Despite the disappointment, Elene does not plan to lose hope about changing the government and she encourages everyone to remember that “this is still not the end”.
Irma Chelidze began her day at the polling station as soon as it opened and remained attentive until the station closed, prior to the vote counting. Her role was strictly observational, maintaining a neutral stance throughout. "If I noticed an issue, my duty was to bring it to the attention of the commission’s chairman. If unresolved, I could file a formal complaint." Irma said.
To prepare for her role, she underwent extensive training two weeks before Election Day. The training spanned a full day from 7 am - 7 pm which included visual presentations, an official election badge, and a detailed booklet. "The organization of the training was impressive," she said.
On voting day, Irma observed several concerning issues at her precinct. One major challenge was the presence of political party representatives who seemed to blur the lines of neutrality. "Although only one observer per organization was allowed, there were two representatives from the Georgian Dream party who stayed in the building all day. They would move to a corner instead of leaving entirely," Irma said.
The presence of commission members who appeared to be closely connected also raised concerns about fairness. "One member, who openly supported the Georgian Dream, even assisted with opening ballots, which is a clear violation," she recounted.
The use of technology was another aspect that Irma had to monitor. Her role included ensuring that a verification app was properly functioning. However, the app’s offline nature complicated its use. Furthermore, the precinct faced issues with the privacy of ballots. "The paper was so thin that you could see the vote choice from the back," she explained. “In the morning, I verified that 17 ballots were designated for transportation in secure boxes. When the precinct closed, I was stationed nearby to ensure all 17 were accounted for. However, as we reviewed the ballots, the vote choice was visible from the back due to the thin paper, which compromised voter privacy.”
Another significant problem was the organization of the voting area itself. The tables were arranged so closely that observers struggled to monitor the process effectively. "A mobile team later advised the chairman to rearrange the tables, but by then, much of the day had already passed," Irma shared.
In terms of voter identification, Irma observed difficulties when personal ID numbers were denied by the system, forcing manual entries that were challenging to verify: “It was difficult to verify that the correct ID numbers were input.”
The vote-counting process, which is crucial for the honesty of the election results, also had some issues. "The vote-counting procedure was disorganized. The ballots were thin, the tables were poorly arranged, and the overall process was difficult to control. At my precinct, three invalid ballots were mistakenly placed among the votes for a party. Commission members who were supposed to be neutral showed support for this party and appeared unfamiliar with some basic rules.” Irma reported.
Additionally, Irma noted that other observers did not appear to be genuinely monitoring the process. "They kept writing down names of certain people and passing a notebook among themselves," she observed, raising questions about their true intentions.
Despite many violations at the precinct, Irma explained that she did everything she could: “I didn’t want to be ejected from the elections, so it was better for me to do what was within my power, especially since there were only four neutral observers at our polling station.” In the precinct recorded 44% of votes in favor of the Georgian Dream party.
Irma emphasized the significance of citizen involvement in elections: "Active citizen participation can help ensure that the elections run smoothly and fairly," she stated. Irma’s own experience highlighted the consequences of a lack of personnel. "When I needed to cast my own vote, my observation position was left vacant due to understaffing," she recalled.
[Editors Note: The first part of the article (interview with Elene Mansvetashvili) was edited by Ninia Kadagidze]
Edited By: Elene Mansvetashvili and Ninia Kadagidze
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