Georgian legal group challenges overseas voting restrictions in Constitutional Court

The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) has filed a constitutional lawsuit on behalf of Georgian emigrants living in France, challenging recent changes to the country’s electoral legislation.

The organisation’s chair, Tamar Oniani, said the new rules effectively prevent many citizens abroad from participating in elections, arguing that they violate constitutional guarantees.

The complaint targets an amendment to the Election Code that prohibits the opening of polling stations in Georgian embassies and consulates overseas.

According to GYLA, the restriction contradicts Article 24 of the Georgian Constitution, which guarantees universal suffrage. The organisation argues that the measure does not pursue any legitimate constitutional aim and instead creates significant financial and social barriers for voters abroad.

These include the high cost of travel, the need to take time off work and other pressures, which, it says, could discourage hundreds of thousands of emigrants from exercising their right to vote.

The group also noted that income earned by Georgians working abroad is often critical both for the emigrants themselves and for their families in Georgia.

GYLA says that if the Constitutional Court of Georgia finds the disputed provision unconstitutional, it would allow for polling stations to be opened at Georgian diplomatic missions abroad during elections.