The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA) has filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights regarding the mass violation of the secrecy of the vote during the 2024 parliamentary elections.
According to the organization, the complaint highlights violations under Article 3 of the First Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights, which requires state parties to hold free elections by secret ballot at reasonable intervals in conditions that ensure the free expression of the people's will when electing their legislative body.
Nona Kurdovanidze, the chair of GYLA, stated that the complaint has already been registered by the European Court. She pointed out that the electoral administration's failure to properly fulfill its duties led to a mass violation of the fundamental principle of secrecy in voting, and the right to an effective remedy for electoral disputes was also violated. The complaint further argues that the blanket provision in Georgian law, which restricts citizens' ability to file complaints about electoral disputes, does not comply with the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Notably, before the 2024 parliamentary elections, GYLA identified risks to the secrecy of the vote during the training and informational meetings held by the Central Election Commission (CEC). GYLA raised concerns with the CEC, urging them to take appropriate measures to address the issue. The CEC informed GYLA that the ballots used in these meetings were a test version, and the ballots used on election day would be of a different quality to ensure secrecy. However, during the 2024 elections, the CEC failed to prevent the appearance of colored circle marks on the back of the ballots.
Using the internal dispute mechanisms, GYLA requested the annulment of the results from 2263 polling stations in 73 districts where the elections were conducted using technology. GYLA argued that the principle of voter secrecy was violated on a large scale during the voting process, which undermines the constitutional electoral rights of Georgian citizens.
At the national level, only the Tetritskaro District Court accepted GYLA's complaint. The court randomly checked several ballots from the villages of Tsalka and Tetritskaro and found visible marker traces on the back of the ballots. Judge Vladimir Khuchua also conducted a voting secrecy experiment during the hearing, which confirmed a clear violation of secrecy when the ballots were inserted into the vote-counting machine. Later, the Tbilisi Court of Appeals annulled the decision of the Tetritskaro court.
The complaint presented by GYLA to the European Court of Human Rights is precedent-setting and provides the court with the opportunity to assess both the systematic violation of voting secrecy during the October 26, 2024 elections and the fairness of the system for addressing election-related complaints, as stated by Nona Kurdovanidze.
