Tbilisi court reviews lawsuits seeking annulment of parliamentary election results

The Tbilisi City Court began reviewing combined lawsuits from opposition parties and monitoring groups at 11:00 a.m. today, focusing on demands to annul summary protocols for the October 26 parliamentary elections. The lawsuits, submitted by the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), opposition groups Strong Georgia and Unity – National Movement, allege that vote confidentiality was breached and that the results should be voided.

GYLA claims that marks on the back of ballots compromised voter anonymity at all electronic polling stations. Opposition parties have echoed these concerns, adding allegations of bribery, intimidation, and interference with observers. Judge Iveri Abashidze is presiding over the proceedings.

This session marks the second stage of election-related dispute resolution in Tbilisi’s court system. During the first stage, held on November 6, the Tbilisi Court of Appeals reviewed cases involving precinct election commissions. That marathon session, which lasted 23 hours, resulted in the annulment of only one local ruling due to a vote confidentiality breach, while over 20 complaints from NGOs and opposition groups were dismissed.

At this stage, the court is now reviewing summary election documents issued by district commissions. Earlier, the Central Election Commission (CEC) rejected these complaints after an 8-hour deliberation. Should the Tbilisi City Court reject the lawsuits, it is anticipated the case will move to appeal.

Following the conclusion of this second stage of legal review, decisions will be forwarded to the CEC, which will use them to finalize election results. The CEC’s summary document may also face further appeals in both the Tbilisi City Court and the Court of Appeal.