Day: January 23, 2026

On January 25, the Ganja State Drama Theater will host the interregional dance festival-competition Kapaz Dance Cup 2026, bringing together the strongest dance ensembles and solo performers from across Azerbaijan, Azernews reports.

Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), a local human rights group, said the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has begun examining complaints related to Georgia’s widely disputed October 26, 2024 parliamentary elections. The watchdog added that the ECtHR may grant the case “Impact Case” status, which could significantly influence or reshape human rights law.

In its complaint, GYLA claimed a massive violation of ballot secrecy and a breach of the right to have electoral disputes reviewed through effective mechanisms. It also argued that the “blanket norm” in Georgian law limiting citizens’ electoral complaints violates the European Convention on Human Rights.

The case consolidates three complaints and is being examined under Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the right to free elections, as well as Article 13, which ensures the right to an effective remedy. “The Court will also deliberate and assess whether the opening of an insufficient number of polling stations abroad violated citizens’ right to vote,” the organizations said.

The October 26, 2024, parliamentary elections were the first in Georgia that were conducted largely using electronic voting. On election day, numerous voters reported that the markers used to fill in ballots left visible traces on the reverse side, allowing outsiders to infer voters’ choices even when ballots were folded. The ballot listed the ruling Georgian Dream party as number 41 at the bottom, while major opposition parties were placed at the top or middle, making voters’ selections easier to identify.

These concerns were a key reason why the opposition parties and then-President Salome Zurabishvili refused to recognize the election results. Zurabishvili challenged the results in the country’s Constitutional Court, claiming breach of ballot secrecy and universal suffrage, and requested the annulment of the election results. The Court, however, widely viewed as influenced by the Georgian Dream party, rejected the appeal.

Before applying to the ECtHR, GYLA filed appeals with all district election commissions seeking the annulment of results from all 2,263 precincts where electronic voting was used, citing violations of ballot secrecy. The election commissions and subsequent courts rejected all complaints, except for the Tetritskaro District Court, which initially ruled in favor of the complaints. However, the Tbilisi Court of Appeals later overturned this decision.

In April, ahead of largely boycotted municipal elections, the CEC decided to install a protective cover above the slot where ballots are inserted into electronic devices to better safeguard voter secrecy. Critics widely interpreted the move as an implicit acknowledgment that ballot secrecy had been compromised during the October 2024 parliamentary elections.

Georgia must now respond to the Court’s questions by May 15 and present its position on whether the right to free elections was upheld at polling stations using electronic voting technologies. The authorities must also address whether the rules governing electronic vote-counting violated the principle of the secret ballot.

Also Read:

• 28/10/2024 – Georgian Opposition, Observers Collect Evidence to Reveal Alleged Vote Fraud Scheme
• 28/10/2024 – Blinken: U.S. Condemns Breaches of Int. Norms During Oct.26 Elections, Calls for Investigation