ISFED reports 15 alleged cases of dismissal on political grounds ahead of municipal elections
The ruling party withdrew from the EU-mediated agreement in late July due to the largest opposition United National Movement (UNM) party’s refusal to join the agreement. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
Tweet 
Share
The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) has reported 15 alleged cases of dismissal on political grounds in Georgia in the run up to the October 2 municipal elections.
ISFED’s interim report identified several other violations, such as:
- 11 alleged cases of political pressure, threats and obstruction
- 13 alleged cases of use of administrative resources
- Six cases of social agitation
- Four cases of voter bribery
- Eight cases of acting officials’ campaigns
The organisation has also reported several cases of direct or indirect compulsion for the involvement of the educational institutions’ employees in the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party’s campaign.
However, ISFED praised the process of interviewing the candidates for membership of the District Election Commission (DEC) which was broadcast live.
The interim report also noted that 55 per cent of the DEC were elected by low quorum.
It should be noted that it was not always possible to elect members of the election commission with a high quorum, which would be of great importance in terms of increasing confidence in the administration,” ISFED reports.
Several electoral amendments have been adopted by the Georgian parliament earlier this summer which were proposed by the GD and opposition party Citizens ahead of the local self-government elections in compliance with the EU-mediated agreement that resolved the political standoff caused by parliamentary elections 2020.
However, the GD withdrew from the agreement in late July due to the largest opposition United National Movement (UNM) party’s refusal to join the agreement.
Per the amendments, the Central Election Commission (CEC) head can now be elected only by the Georgian parliament with the Georgian president’s nomination and not by the CEC itself. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
The Georgian parliament elected Giorgi Kalandarishvili as the new head of the CEC, following the resignation of the body’s former chair Tamar Zhvania in late June.
OSCE/ODIHR will send 350 short-term and 30 long-term observers to Georgia for the country’s October 2 municipal elections.
The International Republican Institute (IRI) has released the results of a nationwide poll which revealed that 75 per cent of Georgians are very likely to vote in the upcoming municipal elections. 25 per cent of the voters who are not likely to participate in the local elections say that they ‘do not have confidence in the electoral process.’
The Georgian parliament has elected Giorgi Kalandarishvili as the new head of the Central Election Commission (CEC) in a fourth vote, following the resignation of the body’s former chair Tamar Zhvania in late June. Two other individuals, Gia Tsatsashvili and Maia Zaridze, were elected members of the commission.
Significant shortcomings were not found in the parliamentary elections of October 31, 2020, the temporary parliamentary commission created to study the matter stated earlier today. The Georgian parliament established the temporary commission earlier this year to investigate allegations of parliamentary election violations, which caused a six-month political standoff in the country and was largely solved following the EU-mediated agreement on April 19.
The ruling Georgian Dream party has spent 2,794,718 GEL on election ads between August 2 and August 22. The Georgian Dream spent the following amounts on:
The Georgian Public Defender’s Office says that ‘62 employees were subjected to various forms of pressure’ and dozens were dismissed on political grounds ahead of the October 2 municipal elections.
The united opposition candidate for Poti mayor, former Tbilisi mayor Gigi Ugulava, has received a document from the Georgian Interior Ministry allowing him to register for the upcoming October 2 municipal race. He stated two days ago that he could not get a document confirming that he is not a convicted sexual or narcotics felon from the ministry and noted that it was a ‘deliberate campaign’ against him.
Tamar Kekenadze has been nominated for Tbilisi mayor in the October 2 municipal elections by the Strategy Agmashenebeli-led political platform Third Force today.
Former Georgian PM Giorgi Gakharia, who is running for Tbilisi mayor in the upcoming October 2 self-government elections, has accused local TV channel Imedi of political bias and demands to be aired live. Giorgi Gakharia resigned from the post of PM on February 18, 2021 due to a disagreement with the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party and soon after in late May launched the For Georgia political party. The GD accused Gakharia of planning an alleged coup together with the largest opposition United National Movement (UNM) party, noting that his resignation ’was profitable for the UNM.’
The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia responded to the non-profit organisation Civil Election Commission’s statement that 683 dead individuals are in electoral voters’ lists in 25 Georgian municipalities and called it ‘disinformation and attempt to mislead citizens.’ The CEC representative Tornike Gigisvanidze stated that it is impossible for an individual to vote instead of a deceased person ‘as the voter is obliged to present the ID (identification document) card at the polling station.’
The Georgian parliament approved new rules for the election of the head of the country’s Central Election Commission (CEC) and its members earlier today despite the calls of NGOs not to support the ‘simplified procedures.’