A district court in Georgia's municipality of Tetritskaro on Monday ruled in favour of a claim by the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association on violations of vote secrecy during the October 26 parliamentary elections.
The court annulled the results of 18 election precincts in the Tsalka municipality, in Kvemo Kartli, electoral district #25 and 13 precincts in the Tetritskaro electoral district #26.
The decision came after an inquiry into reports of marker traces being visible on the back of ballot papers used in the vote, compromising the confidentiality of votes cast.
The association noted the court's decision established a “new precedent for the protection of voters' rights to confidentiality”, and welcomed the ruling, highlighting its significance in “ensuring a democratic electoral process”.
The court examined a random selection of ballots from several precincts in the Tetritskaro and Tsalka, while the judge, who personally conducted the verification process, observed an “obvious fact of violation of confidentiality” when placing the ballot in the vote counting machine, the association added.
