Georgia’s Parliamentary Elections: New electronic voting machines raise new concerns

On October 26, 2024, Georgians will determine the country’s future in a closely watched election. While most attention has been paid to the names on the ballot, less has been said about the fundamental shift in how votes are cast.

The country’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has been transitioning to electronic voting over the past few years. Officials maintain the new system—which is not connected to the internet and still requires paper ballots—will address voting concerns, especially by reducing the wait for results. Election observers, however, argue that electronic voting does not address the longstanding challenges that have plagued Georgia’s electoral process and, in some cases, may even make them worse. 

Stories of displacement: The fate of three generations after decades of conflict

Three generations have been touched by conflict in the South Caucasus. The disputes over Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh and South Ossetia have displaced hundreds of thousands of people across Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia over the past 30 years. Just as each conflict is defined by its own unique tragedies, so have the lives of the displaced in all three countries been shaped by the politics, culture and society of their communities. This project explores the stories behind the displacement - the fate of those who had to flee their homes and the response of the governments, towns and villages that took them in.

Chai Khana Media and Digital Literacy Initiative

Last year, Chai Khana media.code invited more than 50 participants from South Caucasus to uncover the invisible traces of ethnic conflicts. The result, multimedia stories created by young authors, are part of the Chai Khana media and digital literacy initiative.

The legacy of Georgia's once-vibrant Jewish communities