NCDC calls on advertising company to restore vaccination banners replaced by anti-opposition billboards
The Central Election Commission announced earlier today that they received two complaints regarding the anti-opposition billboards and stated that they have launched an investigation into the issue. Photo: Netgazeti.ge.
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The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) of Georgia has called on advertising company ALMA to restore Covid-19 vaccination banners which were replaced by anti-opposition political billboards on September 17.
The NCDC states that the advertising company did not notify the body regarding the change of the banners, noting that the replacement of their banners ‘was possible only with the prior agreement of the parties.’
The NCDC would have used all possible means to unconditionally extend all necessary measures for the placement of (vaccination) banners for the popularisation of vaccination to save the lives of the population,” the NCDC statement reads.
Political movement Droa leader Elene Khoshtaria has filed a complaint in the Central Election Commission (CEC) over the billboards that portray opposition politicians as ‘bloody.’
A photo published on Facebook yesterday showed that a Covid-19 vaccination banner was replaced by the ‘bloody’ anti-opposition billboard. Photo: Netgazeti.ge.
The billboards feature opposition political leaders, including former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia who resigned earlier this year and the media managers of two opposition-minded TV channels Nika Gvaramia and Nodar Meladze from Mtavari Arkhi and TV Pirveli which reads: ‘No to Natsis (referring to the largest opposition United National Movement (UNM) party), No to evil, No to betrayal.’
ALMA stated they have nothing to do with the ‘bloody’ billboard’s content or design and said that ‘the content of the banners is unacceptable to us.’
Businessman Mikheil Gabriadze claimed that he and his friends are the authors of the ‘bloody’ billboards.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced earlier today that they received two complaints regarding the anti-opposition billboards and stated that they have launched an investigation into the issue.
Political movement Droa leader Elene Khoshtaria, who is the united opposition’s joint candidate for the City Council (Sakrebulo) chair in the upcoming local elections, has filed a complaint in the Central Election Commission (CEC) over billboards which portray opposition politicians as ‘bloody.’ The billboards feature opposition political leaders, including former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia who resigned earlier this year and the media managers of two opposition-minded TV channels Nika Gvaramia and Nodar Meladze from Mtavari Arkhi and TV Pirveli which reads: ‘No to Natsis (referring to the largest opposition United National Movement (UNM) party), No to evil, No to betrayal.’
Businessman Mikheil Gabriadze has told Rustavi 2 TV that he and his friends stand behind ‘bloody’ billboards depicting opposition politicians. Claiming that he does not belong to any political party, Gabriadze said the former ruling party – United National Movement – which is now the largest opposition party, should not return to power.
The election banner of the united opposition’s joint candidate for Poti mayor, former Tbilisi mayor Gigi Ugulava, has been damaged in Poti, Ugulava announced on Facebook. He stated that surveillance cameras are nearby and urged the country’s Interior Ministry to look into the issue.
Transparency International (TI) Georgia and International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) say violent posters in the streets of Tbilisi pose a threat to the health and life of the opposition and media representatives.
Advertising company ALMA has stated that they provided the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) of Georgia with the space for the Covid-19 vaccination campaign free of charge in response to the latter’s appeal to restore the vaccination banners replaced by anti-opposition political billboards on September 17.
Georgian Health Minister Ekaterine Tikaradze stated earlier today that the replacement of a Covid-19 vaccination ad with a ‘billboard of hatred‘ is categorically unacceptable, referring to anti-opposition political billboards which appeared in Georgia on September 17. She said that ‘vaccination is a priority not only for the country but also for the world.’
The Georgian State Audit Office has launched an investigation to find out who stands behind ‘bloody’ billboards depicting opposition politicians. The billboards depicting opposition politicians, including ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, ex-Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia and UNM mayoral candidate Nika Melia, say: ‘No to Natsis [a short, often derogatory form of the opposition UNM), No to evil, No to betrayal’.
The opposition European Georgia party has demanded advertising company Alma put up their banners and to fulfil the terms of their contract. European Georgia wants to place the banners where the billionaire and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party Bidzina Ivanishvili is depicted as a pig. The billboard calls on Georgian citizens ‘not to become an animal farm and stop being understanding’ in a reference to the George Orwell novel Animal Farm.