Election Commission Deputy Chair claims body target of “baseless accusations”

Giorgi Sharabidze, the Deputy Chair of the Central Election Commission of Georgia, on Monday claimed the body was a  “target of baseless accusations and pressure” from domestic opposition despite “carrying out its operations in compliance with the law, with all procedures accessible to stakeholders”.

In his statement Sharabidze claimed “slander” against CEC employees by members of the Political Council of opposition party the Unity - National Movement.

He also alleged “pressure” and “attempt to present facts in a misleading manner” by the opposition group on Sunday, during a trial at the Tbilisi City Court over establishment of precinct election commissions in foreign countries.

We would like to call upon both the local and international observer organisations to express interest in the present prevocational conduct and not to leave it without proper consideration, since such behaviour damages the electoral environment”, Sharabidze said.

When the electoral process is marred by hate speech, slander, and personal attacks against election administrators, the integrity of the elections is directly compromised”, the official added.

He also mentioned a joint statement issued last week by Levan Ioseliani, the Public Defender of Georgia, and the CEC, urging domestic political actors and participants in the election campaign to “display high political and civic responsibility, promote the conduct of election campaign that is pluralistic and free from violence and hate speech” ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 26.

Sharabidze also emphasised the administration would “protect the dignity of each staff member and use every measure for eliminating the facts similar to the prevocational incident”, with the official also noting the body  would “keep organising its activities solely as per the legislation and ensure the elections are conducted in compliance with international standards”.