On November 5, pro-government Georgian media outlets “Imedi” and POSTV reported that Aleksandre Elisashvili, leader of the coalition “Strong Georgia”, allegedly had prior knowledge of a court decision concerning election vote secrecy. According to the media, around 21:00 Elisashvili stated: “Tetritskaro judge had courage to say that secrecy was violated”, and the judge started announcing the decision after 22:00.
Temur Sharmanashvili, a member of the “Georgian Dream” party, reiterated similar claims, stating that Elisashvili had prior knowledge of Judge Khuchua’s decision. According to Sharmanashvili, this constitutes a major scandal and breaches court confidentiality. His remarks were broadcast by “Imedi” TV, “Rustavi 2,” and several other news agencies (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).
Government-affiliated media outlets have disseminated information manipulatively alleging that Aleksandre Elisashvili had prior knowledge of Judge Vladimir Khuchua’s decision regarding election vote secrecy. However, the Georgian Young Lawyers Association reported that the Tetritskaro District Court identified a violation of voting secrecy at 6:25 PM on November 4. Elisashvili addressed the media between 8:00 and 10:00 PM that evening.
On November 4, the Tetritskaro District Court reviewed a lawsuit filed by the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) concerning breaches of voting secrecy during the October 26 parliamentary elections. GYLA contends that the markers used to select candidates on the ballots left visible traces on the back side. This visibility compromised voter anonymity when ballots were inserted into counting machines, as it became apparent which candidate each voter had chosen.
On November 4, at 6:25 PM, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) wrote on Facebook that a breach of voting secrecy was identified during a court session. The court, acting on GYLA’s request, randomly selected three ballots from Tsalki and Tetritskaro municipalities. All displayed visible markings on their back sides. A technical examination of the vote-counting machine, ballots, markers, and frame envelopes revealed that when a ballot is inserted into the machine, the voter’s choice is discernible from the back. Aleksandre Elisashvili referenced GYLA’s findings in his statements to the media and during a protest rally.
Aleksandre Elisashvili said this at the protest rally near the parliament building. At 20:30 the politician told the demonstrators:
(Timestamp 1:28:50) “A small step toward our victory. I want to share a short story of remarkable courage. Many of you may have already heard it. A judge in Tetritskaro took a bold stand and confirmed that voting secrecy had been violated in the election. The Association of Young Lawyers shared this news. None of their lawsuits had been upheld in any Georgian court until now, as they were routinely dismissed but one Georgian turned out to be truly amazing—I’m not sure if they’re a man or woman but bless this remarkable person. At their request, the necessary equipment was brought in, an experiment was conducted, and it was shown that this damned marker or whatever indeed bled through from the other side. They ruled, ‘Yes, this is a breach of secrecy.’
Later, Elisashvili echoed the same message in a statement to “TV Pirveli” adding that protests should continue across Georgia. Hi said the following on air: Look at what an incredible story this is. This is the first major result of a judge in Tetritskaro having the courage to acknowledge that voting secrecy was breached. Just imagine what a remarkable story this is.” Elisashvili made this comment roughly an hour and a half into the live broadcast, around 8:58 PM.
On November 5, POSTV aired footage from Palitra TV’s morning talk show, suggesting that Aleksandre Elisashvili had prior knowledge of the Tetritskaro court’s decision. Notably, Palitra TV did not include Elisashvili’s comments about the court’s ruling in their evening news on November 4, but featured them in the following morning’s program. In an interview with a Palitra journalist, Elisashvili stated: (timestamp 4:50) “He [the judge] conducted an experiment, and it was evident who you would vote for.
All of Aleksandre Elisashvili’s interviews and comments to the media happened after GYLA shared information on Facebook about the voting secrecy violation. In his initial speech at the rally, he cited the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association as the source of the information.
On November 4, the judge of the Tetritskaro district court, Vladimir Khuchua, found that the secrecy of the vote was violated in the parliamentary elections and satisfied the claim of GYLA. The organization announced this at 22:11. “By random selection, the court checked the ballots of several districts in Tsalki and Tetritskaro, where it was confirmed that traces of a marker are visible on the back of the ballots, which violates the right to vote secrecy. The judge, who himself conducted the verification process, observed an obvious fact of violation of secrecy when placing the ballot in the vote counting machine,” GYLA’s statement reads.
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