Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party this week announced plans to ban emigrants from voting abroad in a move critics say will cripple the opposition and tighten political control before future elections.
Georgian Dream Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili announced the move on Nov. 17, describing it as a “procedural adjustment” that would aim to hamper “external interference” in Georgia’s democracy.
At present, non-resident citizens cannot vote in local elections but can participate in parliamentary elections at polling stations set up abroad. Diaspora Georgians tend disproportionately to vote for opposition parties.
If the proposal passes, Georgians will only be able to vote when physically within the country. This change would require over a million citizens living overseas to return home every four years, Papuashvili noted.
Despite the potential disenfranchisement of emigrants, Papuashvili insisted that “nothing is changing in the voting rights of citizens abroad,” stating that the reform simply “defines the place and boundaries” of voting.
Government rationale: ‘resilience’ and foreign influence
Papuashvili supported the proposal with three main points: voting inside Georgia “increases electoral resilience,” “reduces the influence of external actors,” and ensures “more informed choices.”
He also noted that the model is similar to practices in Ireland, Malta, Israel, and Armenia, although each of these countries has different ways of allowing external voting.
According to Papuashvili, the 2024 parliamentary elections showed how “open and aggressive” foreign political pressure can affect Georgians voting from abroad.
“Non-resident citizens are under foreign jurisdictions where the state cannot prevent interference. The risks of manipulation are high,” he said, without citing specific incidents.
Diaspora voted overwhelmingly against Georgian Dream
The move comes after the 2024 parliamentary elections highlighted the political reality that the Georgian diaspora is overwhelmingly opposed to Georgian Dream’s governance.
According to Central Election Commission (CEC) data, the opposition secured crushing victories in key Western precincts which Papuashvili now deems vulnerable to “manipulation.”
Meanwhile, Georgian Dream garnered minimal proportions of the vote among emigrants living in Europe and the US:
- United States — GD: 7%
- United Kingdom — 11.5%
- Germany — 5.3%
- Greece — 22.2%
- France — 10.7%
Only in neighboring states did Georgian Dream perform strongly, securing 44% in Turkey, 59.7% in Armenia and almost 90% in Azerbaijan.
Ahead of the 2024 vote, tens of thousands of citizens demanded additional polling stations abroad. The Central Election Commission ultimately opened 67 precincts in 42 countries, registering 95,834 overseas voters — a record number.
A move with major political consequences
With more than one million Georgians living abroad, eliminating external voting could dramatically reshape the electorate.
Critics argue the government is attempting to suppress a segment of the population which has proved resilient in its demands for political change.
The government, however, continues to argue the change is merely a technical fix, and has called for emigrants to fly back to Georgia to participate in its democratic process.