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Mechanisms to Rig Elections by Portable Ballot Boxes

May 31, 2010
On May 30, 2010, 49 polling stations worked in Gurjaani district. The portable ballot boxes were taken to the houses of the voters who could not visit the polling station.

Representative of the Alliance for Georgia in the election commission of Gurjaani election district # 12 Zurab Danelishvili provided the Kakheti News Center with photo-materials to show how the scheme of the government and the elections commissions to rig the elections failed; more precisely, the voters registered for portable ballot box in Gurjaani district recovered for the Election Day.

“In the Gurjaani election district # 12 the portable ballot box was always well used by the ruling party for the falsification of the elections. The scenario was prepared for the municipal elections in advance. A lot of sick and disabled voters were registered in many PS. For example, 67 disabled voters were registered in the polling station # 67 in Kardenakhi village; 66 disabled voters were registered in the polling station # 36 in Kachreti village; 50 voters were registered in the PS # 39 in Jimiti village; 46 voters were registered in the PS # 40 in Naniani village, etc. Those voters “had petitioned” to the election commissions to be registered for portable ballot box on May 26 and 27. Election commissions registered them in the annex to the voters’ lists,” said Zurab Danelishvili (see photo N 2, N 3).

Danelishvili said that by May 29 half of voters “suddenly” completely recovered or managed to arrive at the PS to vote; those people petitioned to the election commissions for the second time and requested to remove their names from the anex. The commission members removed them from the list though it is not envisaged by the Election Code at all (see photo N 4, N 5).
 
“32 out of 67 sick voters recovered in Kardenakhi; 29 out of 66 sick voters recovered in Kachreti; 23 out of 50 sick voters recovered in Jimiti; 12 out of 34 voters recovered in Naniani. The same situation was observed in almost every polling station (see photo N 6). Because of the misunderstanding, strange notes were made to the voters’ lists and annexes though it is not envisaged under the Code: “is not registered in the annex;” “he is removed from the annex;” “is not inserted on the annex” (see photos N 7, 8, 9 10). Several commissions (in Kardenakhi polling station # 32) did not bother to make any notes and corrected the changes by corrector,” clarified Zurab Danelishvili (see photo N 11, 12).

Danelishvili alleged that requirements of the Article 11, Part II of the Election Code – chairperson and secretary of the commission shall confirm the introduction of voter into the annex by signature  - was breached in every PS. The Article 59 Part II of the Code was also breached which regulates the introduction of voters into the annex.

“There are 49 polling stations in Gurjaani election district. If we follow this scheme, by May 26-27 about 2 500 voters petitioned to the election commission to insert them in the list of portable ballot box (annex). If we pay attention to the petitions, we will guess that handwriting is similar on every document (see photo N 13). According to the scheme of rigging the elections by portable ballot boxes, half of those voters recovered by May 29,” confirmed Zurab Danelishvili.

Representative of the Alliance for Georgia filed complaint to the Gurjaani district election commission regarding those violations.

See photos on the following link: http://www.ick.ge/ka/photogalleries/1528-2010-05-30-16-47-36.html

Kakheti News Center

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