Council of Europe, in cooperation with the Georgian Central Election Commission and its Training Center, delivered training of trainers on the E-voting standards to the district election commissioners from all over Georgia.

The main objective of the training was to introduce to the election commissioners international standards and, among them, the Council of Europe instruments on the use of information technology in elections. 

The training is of utmost importance in view of the upcoming 26 October 2024 Parliamentary Elections when new voting technology will be used in Georgia for the first time nationwide. Upon completion of the training election commissioners will share obtained knowledge among other relevant electoral stakeholders, such as domestic observers and political party representatives. 
75 election commissioners exchanged on challenges and opportunities that voters, polling station workers and observers may face when digital technologies are used in elections. Getting acquainted with the specific technical solution and understanding the challenges they present to electoral principles; voter authentication devices and challenges related to the right to participate; the use of vote scanning and counting devices and challenges related to the right to free and secret suffrage; understanding the legal and organisational challenges – were some of the topics discussed. 

During the training, election commissioners agreed on common approaches that will be introduced to electoral stakeholders in view of preparations for the 26 October 2024 Parliamentary Elections.

The training was organised within the framework of the Council of Europe Project “Supporting Transparency, Inclusiveness and Integrity of Electoral Practice and Process in Georgia”.