Justice Ministry proposes 4 year jail term for violence during elections

Anyone who commits violence during an election period could be sentenced to four years imprisonment in Georgia.

This morning Justice Minister Thea Tsulukiani announced the Ministry had prepared legislative amendments to the Criminal Code of Georgia, where any kind of violence or threat of violence during a pre-election campaign or during the voting process would be punishable by law.

The proposed punishment also extended to anyone who tried to coerce or pressure someone to vote for them or their political party.

Tsulukiani said the Ministry’s Analytical Department had investigated the best practices of foreign countries and had based its legislative amendments on these practices.

"If there is a case where violence is committed by a group, we propose a four year prison sentence,” Tsulukiani said.

"But in lighter cases where a person hasn’t received any physical injury, we think the punishment -which would have a dissuasive effect – could be a fine and/or imprisonment for up to two years.”

Tsulukiani will present the proposed legislative amendments at the next Governmental meeting on May 27.

Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili instructed the Justice Ministry to propose amendments to the Criminal Code to ensure the upcoming Parliamentary Elections in October are held in a safe environment, and prevent a repeat of Sunday’s incident outside a by-election polling booth in western Georgia.

On Sunday afternoon a clash erupted between Georgian Dream and United National Movement (UNM) supporters, which left dozens of people battered and bruised after supporters of the opposing political parties started fighting one another.

The incident happened outside a polling station in western Zugdidi municipality, Samegrelo region during the by-elections.

Kvirikashvili assessed the incident as "unacceptable”. He said the Government "would not tolerate” violence in the election process as such instances "victimised the Georgian state and its citizens”.

He said the existing legislation did not include penalties severe enough for such offences and said: "I instruct the Ministry of Justice to propose legislative amendments immediately, at the next governmental meeting, to introduce tougher sanctions against those committing violent acts amid political and electoral processes.”