The Georgian Dream has an initiative to make amendments to the Election Code, according to which, strict sanctions will be imposed in case of coercion and intimidation of voters or violation of secrecy of casting a vote.

Archil Talakvadze, Chairman of the Parliament, spoke about the initiative at a press conference, noting that the Code will also indicate that a person will be held criminally liable in case of such a violation.

“We have an initiative to amend the Election Code to impose strict sanctions for coercion and intimidation of voters or for violation of the secrecy of casting a vote. In case of committing such an act, the person will be held criminally liable. A similar change will be made in the Criminal Code too.

Violation of secrecy of casting a vote or coercion of a voter will result in a fine or house arrest for a period from 6 months to 2 years or imprisonment for a term of up to 3 years. The relevant changes have been drafted and will be submitted to the Parliament of Georgia today.

These changes further tighten the responsibility for offenders in the election process and increase the degree of protection of voters, their free choice and secrecy of their choice. Our goal is to hold the 2020 parliamentary elections in compliance with the highest democratic standard”, - concluded the Chairman of the Parliament.