People Dressed in National Movement’s T-shirts Repair Outdoor Illumination in Telavi

Natia Danelishvili, Information Centre of Kakheti

Employees of Ltd Gareganateba [outdoor illumination] work dressed in the National Movement’s t-shirts in Telavi. The Ltd is financed with 100 000 lari from the local budget. As Irine Urushadze-the lawyer of Transparency International - Georgia told ICK it is abuse the administrative resources and bribery of voters.

ICK video-recorded this fact in the Alazani Avenue, Telavi on September 2. When the workers of the Ltd Gareganateba were asked why they were wearing the t-shirts of a political party while implementing their duties, they said it is their business what to wear.

Kakha Azikuri-the director of Ltd told ICK that his employees support the National Movement and he cannot prohibit them to wear the party’s election t-shirts.

-Why do your employees work in National Movement’s t-shirts?

-It was Sunday yesterday. I took those people from homes because there was something urgent to do. They were wearing those t-shirts at home.

-Does it make any difference whether they worked on Sunday or not? They were wearing party t-shirts during working.

-You are oppressing me now… It was not official working hours and I took them from their houses where they had those t-shirts on; I could not tell them to take them off. I do not understand your journalistic interests. There was some problem; those workers live nearby; so I picked them up by car and took to the place of the incident.

-Why did you take them wearing t-shirts of the UNM?

-They were standing in the street when I picked them up and could not request them to take off clothes.

-Your organization is funded from the budget and your employees implement their activities in the t-shirts of a political party; is not it abuse of administrative resources?

-What then if we are funded from the district budget; they pay me for the implemented job. Do I advertise them? First of all, the workers support the National Movement and they want to wear those t-shirt. Then it was Sunday and I have already explained everything.

-Do not you prohibit them to wear those t-shirts during working hours either?

-Nobody prohibits them anything. I do not have right to indicate to my employees what to wear at work. It is their choice.

Irine Urushadze, lawyer at the TI-Georgia: “It does not make any difference whether they were working on Sunday or on working days. It is abuse of administrative resources because outdoor illumination was repaired with the state budget funds and workers were wearing symbols of the political party that means the party abused administrative resources. Voters perceived that the political party was implementing that particular job. So, the Ltd or its director might be fined with 2 000 lari for similar activities. The Election Administration shall study this case, estimate the responsible person and impose relevant sanction on him/her. Besides that, it can be qualified as bribery of voters though it is not ordinary bribery that is punished under the Criminal Law. The Election Code also envisages punishments for bribery of voters when election subject is implementing a job that is not within its functions or implements the functions of the self-government; the society perceives similar activities as service that causes annulment of the election subject’s registration in accordance to the Election Code.”

ICK observed another fact of voters’ bribery and abuse of administrative resources in Telavi on August 31 too. Young people dressed in the t-shirts of the National Movement were distributing aid to the population victimized by the natural disaster. Head of National Movement’s Kakheti regional office Giorgi Botkoveli claims those people were ordinary passers-by and had no connection with the National Movement. State Audit Office has not responded to this fact yet.

On May 16, 2012 ICK reported that young people dressed in the t-shirts of the Georgian Dream were installing Global TV’s antennas in Sagarejo. So, the State Audit Office immediately started investigation of the case and finally they drew up administrative protocol on Georgian Dream and the court fined the Coalition with large sums.