Georgia is holding its parliamentary election on October 26, Report informs via TASS.
The ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party, which has been in power since 2012, seeks its fourth victory in a row.
As many as 18 parties are taking part in the election. The four main opposition parties include the Unity - National Movement, whose backbone is ex-President Mikhail Saakashvili’s United National Movement, former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia’s Gakharia For Georgia party, the Strong Georgia coalition and the Coalition for Change. The four plan to form a coalition government if they manage to garner more seats in total than the Georgian Dream party.
The Alliance of Patriots, which promotes traditional values and calls for dialogue with Russia, is also expected to pass the five percent threshold to enter parliament.
This will be the first Georgian election involving the use of electronic ballot processing. As many as 74% of polling stations in the country have been equipped with electronic ballot boxes, which make it possible to count ballots with just the click of a button and reduce the risk of ballot rigging.
As many as 3,111 polling stations will open their doors to a total of 3.5 million voters in Georgia and other countries. The election will run from 8:00 a.m. local time (4:00 a.m. GMT) to 8:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. GMT). The Central Election Commission is expected to announce the first results of the vote within two hours after polling stations close.