Natia Sulava, Head of the Administration of the President of Georgia:

Today, the Central Election Commission decided to open 7 new election precincts abroad. It should be noted that this decision by the CEC does not address the requests of thousands of immigrants to open polling stations in major cities across Europe and the United States.

At today's CEC session, the issue of opening a polling station in the French city of Strasbourg was also discussed, but the commission did not approve it.

It should be noted that the requests of thousands of emigrants, sent to the CEC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were rejected. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that opening a polling station abroad is only possible at a Georgian diplomatic mission. One of the reasons for the refusal was related to security concerns.

The President of Georgia met several times with the ambassadors of European countries and the United States in Georgia, including the ambassador of France, and received full support from them regarding the opening of additional precincts.

Considering that thousands of citizens live in Strasbourg, with at least 400 Georgian citizens registered in the consular register, and most importantly, the presence of a Georgian diplomatic representation in Strasbourg, we call on the CEC to immediately decide to open a polling station in Strasbourg. This decision would support our emigrants in exercising their constitutional right to vote without any obstacles.