Special decree outlines police conduct in election period
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Georgia’s Minister of Internal Affairs issued a special decree today that clearly outlines the roles and responsibilities of Georgia’s police in the election period.
The decree notes the creation of special police groups in all of Georgia’s region to prevent and respond to any election-related violations or provocations that occur in the lead up to the October 8 Parliamentary Elections, on Election Day itself and in the days afterward.
The decree stated policemen in Georgia will be retrained about their obligations on Election Day and refresh them on how they must treat all people who take part in the voting process.
The decree was signed by Georgia’s Minister of Internal Affairs Giorgi Mgebrishvili today and immediately came into effect.
Already the Minister has spoken with all regional and local police department heads about the new decree via video conference.
Mgebrishvili stressed the special police groups, composed of heads of police divisions, will be formed in all Georgian regions. Each group will be responsible for permanently monitoring and evaluating possible threats and prepare appropriate responding actions in case of need.
The groups will also be responsible for quickly and adequately responding to any election-related incident before, during or after the elections.
Today Georgia’s Minister of Internal Affairs Giorgi Mgebrishvili said the agency was aware of several incidences planned for before and after the October 8 Parliamentary Elections and he stressed any such incident would not be tolerated.
Georgia’s Minister of Internal Affairs, who has returned from an official trip in Germany, has spoken out about the opposition’s allegations of increased crimes in Georgia and called on people to refrain from criticizing or verbally abusing Georgia’s police officers.
The October 8 Parliamentary Elections will be one of the most diverse in the history of independent Georgia, as a large number of political parties and blocs have registered for the race. This year there will be no Georgian Dream coalition, which was established for the 2012 Parliamentary Elections.
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Everybody working in Georgia’s public institutions received an e-mail today from the country’s Prime Minister encouraging them to be more responsible and carry out their duties in the most honest and ethical way in the lead up to next month’s elections.
The United States (US) Ambassador to Georgia Ian Kelly has spoken of his positive impressions of the calm pre-election environment in Georgia when he met the country’s Minister of Internal Affairs today.
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