The CEC and the Training Centre continue the cycle of trainings for Precinct Election Commissions (PEC) for the October 4, 2025 Municipal Elections.

From August 30, 2025, the IV stage of training begins for those PECs that conduct the polling process using electronic voting machines. The target audience at this stage of retraining is the entire staff of PECs (commission chairperson, deputy chairperson and members).

The Training Center trainers will provide participants with detailed information about the role and powers PEC members in the election administration process. The following main aspects are considered:

• The issue of voter participation in elections (electoral bodies; structure of the ballot; type of special envelope issued to voters; the list of voters loaded into the verification machines and based on it - determining the issue of voter participation in the relevant type of elections);
• Term of office of the PEC;
• Professional standards to be considered in the process of the PEC's activities (principles of legality, political neutrality, professionalism, ethics);
• Rules for the distribution of functions to be performed by commission members on polling day to provide services to voters and the technique for performing functions by PEC members on polling day (functions of the flow regulator, registrar, supervisor of electronic vote counting machine members, functions to be performed by members transporting the mobile ballot box /special group);
• Procedure for sorting ballots at the polling station (the grounds for the validity/invalidity of ballot papers and the procedure for sorting ballot papers based on them, the sequence according to the columns on the ballot paper (proportional, mayor, majoritarian);
• Ensuring the involvement of observers and representatives of election subjects in the vote counting process and the scope of their observation;
• Aspects to be considered by the PEC Chairperson before entering data into the summary protocols of polling results.

The trainings will be based on practical training, participants will be conducting episodic simulations, including modeling the process of sorting and counting ballots. Participants will also learn about strategies for preventing and managing possible procedural risks in the process of performing their functions by commission members on E-day.

In addition, the training program includes an assessment of the commission's management personnel in the component of independent management of electronic election machines (the PEC chairman and the deputy chairman will independently demonstrate the management of electronic election devices).

In accordance with the training concept, trainings of stages I – III were carried out in the period of August 21-26, 2025. Detailed statistics are available at the link (in Georgian).

Trainers trained by the Training Centre will provide IV stage trainings from August 30 to September 9, 2025. The schedules are available at the link (in Georgian). If changes are made, the information will be reflected immediately.