Studio Reportiori Produces Shocking Documentary about Parliamentary Elections

On June 24 “Democracy Test”, a documentary film made by Studion Reportiori was presented in Tbilisi at the Cinema House. The film highlighted the range of election violations of May 21 snap parliamentary elections. In particular, there were observed instances of observers having been beaten, instances of ballot box stuffing, and the film brought to pubic light various instances of outright intimidation and other widespread and blatant Election Day violations. The Human Rights Centre was among those organizations that provided studio Reportiori with much of the materials that was used in making the documentary. 

Two of the most common violations experienced by observers included not being allowed to enter the polling stations and how election officials had refused to accept or record observed violations in a written form. These were not registered in the official book that was especially designed to record complaints.  The film showed one violation when a ballot box was placed in a yard outside and only was taken into the polling station after it had been filled with ballots.

Vakhtang Komakhidze, the producer of the documentary film also placed substantial emphasis on the Khurcha incident within the fame of other events that took place on Election Day. Komakhidze considers that the blowing up of two buses was a staged event by Georgian side in order to divert the attention of the society from the election and various violations. His suspicions are confirmed by the footage in the documentary film. In particular, the angle the propelled grenades were fried, and the location of buses and the recorded comments of locals that conflicts with the official story presented by the Georgian government as to the event when Gali voters were attacked by Akbhaz separatists to keep them from voting when they assembled to take the buses to go and vote.

The members of various oppositional parties attended the film’s debut. Vakhtang Komakhidze is planning to send the film named “Democracy Test” to international organizations.

Tea Topuria, Tbilisi