The CEC Training Center has commenced trainings of the Election Administration trainers for the October 31, 2020 Parliamentary Elections of Georgia. After taking the training course, the trainers will deliver intensive training programs about electoral legislation to PECs members.

Tamar Zhvania, the CEC Chair, and Natia Zaalishvili, Training Center Director opened the event. They emphasized the importance of familiarizing PEC members with legislative updates and the matters falling within their purview as part of the awareness-raising and training programs that are aimed at enhancing their professional knowledge and practical skills. Moreover, measures to be taken to conduct elections in a safe environment during the Pandemic were discussed.

The ToT started on September 7, 2020 and will run until September 15. 190 trainers will be trained as part of the course that will be delivered in three streams. The Training Center employees are delivering the trainings.

The training course developed by the Training Center is comprised of the modules designed for training PEC members, among them:

• key principles for holding democratic elections and the importance of PEC members for ensuring democratic elections, their mandate as part of ethics and legal framework;
• modus operandi of PECs and their powers stipulated by procedural rules; grounds for disciplinary responsibility;
• coordination/communication of PECs with DECs (including about organizational-logistical matters);
• activities of PECs during the period up to the polling day (including legislative novelty - entering voters in a special list of an adapted polling station);
• the functions of PEC members on a polling day;
• the rule of voting by voters (including, the principle of free expression of will and the secrecy of vote);
• the protection of voters’ personal data;
• closing a polling station, functions of PEC members in the process of sorting/counting/sealing ballot papers;
• drawing up and publicity of polling results summary protocol;
• electoral security;
• photo-video shooting regulation at a polling station;
• voting day applications/complaints;
• adherence to the Pandemic related sanitary-hygiene requirements.

The trained trainers will deliver trainings to 3,657 PEC members in four stages. Detailed schedules will be published in stages.