Georgian bars citizens from voting abroad in parliamentary elections

Georgian citizens will no longer be allowed to vote in parliamentary elections from abroad, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has announced.

“Parliamentary elections in 2024 clearly demonstrated how intense and open informational and political pressure on voters abroad can be. In this context, the risk of undue influence on Georgian citizens living overseas has increased,” he said, Caliber.Az reports, citing Georgian media.

Papuashvili explained: “To vote in elections, Georgian citizens will now have to return home and cast their ballots at their registered place of residence.”

This announcement escalates the 2024-2025 crisis triggered by the disputed October 2024 elections, labeled "fundamentally flawed" by OSCE/ODIHR observers and downgraded by V-Dem to "electoral autocracy."

The October 26, 2024, polls, which the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party won amid widespread fraud allegations, saw significant expatriate turnout (over 100,000 voters at embassies in Europe and the U.S.), where opposition parties dominated. GD claimed this reflected external meddling, including EU-funded "democracy festivals" and NGO activities.

By Khagan Isayev