Web Portal on Human Rights in Georgia

Information Centre of Kakheti

Election posters of the National Movement are on the walls in the working room of attorney and specialists of Chalaubani village territorial entity that is native village of Kakheti regional governor Giorgi Gviniashvili. Election numbers of ruling party are pasted to the windows of second floor in the building.

Irine Urushadze, lawyer of the Transparency International - Georgia thinks that in this particular case employees of the village territorial entity breach the norm which prohibits placement of agitation materials in the interior and exterior of the self-government agency. 

“The public servant, who has hung posters in his/her working rooms, misuses administrative resources and sanction envisaged by the Election Code 2 000 lari shall be imposed on him/her. The election administration and inter-institutional commission shall get interested in this fact. Similar facts were observed during 2010 elections and a public servant was punished for the misuse of administrative resources,’ Irine Urushadze told ICK.

ICK got in touch with attorney of Chalaubani territorial entity Valeri Barnabishvili for comment. “First you should get permission from the press-center of the district administration to interview me,” Barnabishvili said.

Gurjaani district governor has three spokespersons. One of them – Nino Koshadze said she is not in charge of issues connected with territorial entity attorneys and sent us to the second spokesperson Ia Datukishvili. The latter said she is on holiday and forwarded us to the third spokesperson Rusa. Rusa said we have to apply to the district governor to get permission on interviewing the attorney. District governor Davit Meskhishvili did not answer our phone calls. Deputy district governor Goga Petruzashvili said the issue was within competence of the district governor.

ICK tried to get in touch with Kakheti region deputy governor Giorgi Sibashvili but he did not answer phone calls either. Afterwards, we again met the village attorney without so-called “permission” and asked him whether he had right to have posters of the National Movement all over in his office and he did not answer our question. 

Neither Natalia Begashvili, chairwoman of the Gurjaani District Election Commission commented on the issue.

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