Elections 2020: Key Dates and Procedures

On October 31, Georgian citizens will head to the polls to elect the 10th term of the Parliament of Georgia, through a mixed electoral system with 120 MPs elected through a proportional list and 30 MPs through a single-mandate majoritarian system.

The Central Election Commission published the schedule of electoral activities after President Zurabishvili announced the election date.

Below are the key election dates and procedures set by the Election Code and approved by the Central Election Commission (CEC):

August 31 – The election date is officially set;

September 1 – Electoral campaign period kicks off, with various legal obligations, including restrictions on advertising by government agencies, on implementing new projects/programs etc., in order to restrict the use of administrative resources;

September 4 – Deadline for parties that already have an elected MP to apply to CEC for participation in elections; CEC elects temporary district election commission (DEC) members;

September 6 – CEC publishes information on the total number of voters and their breakdown by electoral districts. Initiative groups, electoral blocs, parties, observer organizations and voters may verify the voter list and file for corrections before October 13. From October 16 to October 18 changes to the list of voters can only be made through court ruling;

September 11 – Deadline for initiative groups to submit the list of MP candidate’s supporters for registration;

September 24 – CEC completes registration of electoral blocs;

October 1 – Deadline for parties/electoral blocs to present proportional party-lists and majoritarian candidates in electoral districts;

October 21 – Deadline for local observer organizations to apply to CEC for registration;

October 24 – Deadline for international observer organizations to apply to CEC for registration;

October 26 – Deadline for CEC to release final/corrected data on the total number of voters and their breakdown by electoral districts;

October 31 – Election Day. Polling stations open  at 8:00 and ends close at 20:00;

November 11 – Deadline for electoral district commissions to summarize the results of both majoritarian and proportional polls; results must be submitted to CEC no later than the following day;

November 14 – The last day for holding repeat vote, if there are any;

November 19 – CEC summarizes proportional vote tallies. If needed a second round of elections should be set on November 21. If not, CEC announces final results;

November 21 – Runoffs for majoritarian races, if there are any;

December 10 – Deadline for summarizing final results, if the runoffs are held.

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