Parliamentary elections - the 2016 figures

• On October 8, 2016, the Georgian population will elect the 9th convocation of Parliament. 

According to the most recent data (as of May 1, 2016), there are 3,473,316 eligible voters in Georgia. 
 
• In order to stand in elections, all qualified and non-qualified (those that have no representatives in Georgian Parliament) electoral candidates should submit the relevant applications to the Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairman no later than August 1. 
• After which, they will be given special forms for supporters’ lists. A qualified electoral candidate should produce a list of at least 1,000 supporters, whereas a non-qualified one should produce 25,000 signatures. The deadline for submitting the supporters’ lists is on August 15. 
 
• Neither Georgian Dream nor the United National Movement have applied to the CEC so far. The qualified entities, who have their representatives in parliament, are entitled to apply to the CEC not later than within 57 days from the date of calling the elections. 

 
• According to the most recent data, 26 political parties have already applied to the CEC for registration for participation in the parliamentary elections. Five of them had been already registered with the CEC, including the People’s Authority political union; David Tevzadze for Georgian Peace; Zviad’s Path, in the name of Lord; Georgia; the United Democratic Movement.
 
• In order to obtain seats in Parliament, each party should overcome a 5% threshold.  
• An MP candidate, who gains at least 50% of votes or more, will be regarded as elected by a majority constituency. 
• There are 150 MP seats in Georgian Parliament. Under the Constitution, 77 MPs are elected through the proportional (multi-mandate) system, whereas 73 through the majoritarian system. 
• Under Georgian legislation, any citizen of Georgia aged 21 and over, who is eligible to vote, can be elected as an MP. 
 
• In order to enjoy a constitutional majority, a party should have 113 MP seats. 
 
• According to Georgian legislation, a majority of votes from the current MPs (i.e. 76 out of 150 votes) are required to elect the Prime Minister and the government.

  
• Any paid and/or free political advertising through TV or radio is prohibited on polling day, October 8, starting from 00:00. Any campaigning at the place of voting is also prohibited. 
 
• Voting should end at 8 p.m. Until that time, it is prohibited to publicize any election-related public survey data. 
 
• Under Georgian legislation, political parties that exhibited the best results in the last proportional-system parliamentary elections and held the top three places, are entitled to maintain the numbers previously assigned to them.  
• The numbers assigned to the rest of the political parties should be determined by casting lotteries. 

The political entities should produce their party lists no later than 30 days before the elections. 
• The ministers who intend to stand in the parliamentary elections should resign from their posts before the party lists are submitted. 
 
• As for other government officials, the aforesaid restrictions do not apply to them and they are entitled to carry out their election campaigns throughout the entire pre-election period. Among such individuals are: the Georgian President, Prime Minister and MPs; members of the governments of the Autonomous Republics of Abkhazia (un exile) and Ajara, as well as elected Mayors and Governors, Sakrebulo (City Council) members, since they are regarded as officials holding political posts. 
• Certain media restrictions will take their effect today and will apply not only to the Public Broadcast-if there are broadcasting/publication of political ads, the head of the media organization should notify the National Communications Commission (GNCC) about this. Political advertising should be provided to all parties at an equivalent price.

published: 08.06.2016