The Spatial Dynamics of Diaspora Disenfranchisement: Mapping Polling Station Accessibility in Georgia’s Parliamentary Elections (2016-2024)

Abstract

The presented paper explores the spatial dimensions of extraterritorial voting in Georgia, specifically focusing on the 2016, 2020, and 2024 parliamentary elections. During this period, migration evolved from a crisis-driven exodus into a structured pattern of labor migration, resulting in an estimated 1.2 to 1.6 million Georgian citizens living abroad, roughly one-third of the country’s population. Despite the formal constitutional guarantee of suffrage for all citizens regardless of residence, the actual exercise of this right was systematically hindered by a restrictive implementation framework that utilized geographic distance as a primary barrier to participation. The spatial distribution of electoral infrastructure limited exclusively to diplomatic and consular missions created a “geographic trap” that effectively disenfranchised the majority of the diaspora. The legal basis for extraterritorial voting during the 2016–2024 period was anchored in the Election Code of Georgia, which restricted voting to in-person participation at designated polling stations abroad. Crucially, Article 70 of the Election Code granted the Central Election Commission (CEC) the discretionary authority to determine the locations of these stations, but they must be situated within diplomatic or consular facilities. This legal-spatial interaction transformed Georgia’s relatively small diplomatic network into an absolute geographic constraint. While many European democracies introduced postal, internet, or proxy voting to facilitate diaspora participation, Georgia consistently rejected such alternatives, citing security concerns and the potential for fraud. Consequently, physical presence at a consulate became the only avenue for voting, a requirement that imposed prohibitive travel costs on a geographically dispersed diaspora. The 2016 parliamentary elections established a baseline of spatial concentration. Georgia opened 52 polling stations abroad, primarily in capital cities where diplomatic missions were located. By 2024, the gap between the diaspora population and the electoral infrastructure became undeniable. Initial plans for 60 polling stations were expanded to 67 following intense pressure from civil society and diaspora communities. These seven additional precincts were opened in high-demand locations like Barcelona, Berlin, and Rome. Nevertheless, all 67 precincts remained tethered to existing diplomatic institutions. The concentration of polling stations in capital cities created what this study defines as “selective accessibility”. For Georgian citizens in major metropolitan areas like Athens or Berlin, participation costs were minimal. Conversely, those residing in southern Italy (Naples, Palermo), northern Germany, or regional Greece faced travel distances of 300 to 500 kilometers to exercise their rights. The time and financial burdens of such travel effectively disenfranchised working-class migrants and irregular residents who could not afford to miss work or pay for long-distance transport. This spatial rigidity created a significant participation bias; the subset of the diaspora that could navigate these hurdles was disproportionately urban, educated, and politically engaged. The spatial barriers served a clear partisan function. Analysis of the 2024 elections revealed a profound divide, according to the results, the 40-percentage-point gap indicates that the diaspora remained a formidable opposition constituency. The research suggests that the state’s refusal to expand spatial accessibility was a strategic choice to suppress a politically unfavorable electorate. This trajectory culminated in late 2024 with the legislative decision to abolish extraterritorial voting entirely for the 2025 cycle, citing concerns over “external pressure” on diaspora voters. This act represented the logical endpoint of a decade-long process where spatial constraints were leveraged to systematically erode the substance of universal suffrage.