Statement of Human Rights Center about the Elections in the Georgian Bar Association

On December 9, 2017 Human Rights Center observed the elections of the chairperson, executive council, ethic commission and revision commission members during the Annual Assembly of the Georgian Bar Association.

According to the Human Rights Center’s evaluation, the election process was accompanied with procedural violations and technical shortcomings, which several times hindered the polling process. 

Discovery of some extra election bulletins in the bags of two commission members to the end of the polling process was significant violation of the election procedures. However, as a result of prevention of this violation and timely sealing of the ballot boxes by the votes counting commission, the extra bulletins were not dropped into the boxes. 

The election boxes were placed on the scene. Monitors from Human Rights Center and other organizations monitored how delegates dropped bulletins in the boxes. Election commission members did not observe this process. The monitors did not notice any fact of dropping extra bulletins in the election boxes and attempt of election falsification. 

By the end of the polling process, at about 20:00 pm, a noise was heard from different spots of the election premise. One of the candidates and his supporters claimed that it was planned to switch off electricity and it was necessary to protect the boxes. Regardless this announcement the electricity was not cut off and the election process continued without delays.

To ensure the independence of the election process, it is necessary that candidates were not allowed to be present inside the election premise except the moments they vote. There were cases when the candidates created noise, chaos and hindered election process.

Poorly organized work of the election commission members created some shortcomings in the process of elections. The number of bulletins which the commission members had received was not recorded and it was unknown how many bulletins were handed to them.

GBA has not yet published the final results of the elections. According to the information of Human Rights Center, 2324 lawyers were registered at the Annual Assembly; 2048 delegates participated in the polls. Candidate for the position of the GBA chairperson Davit Asatiani received the most– 1128 votes; Levan Janashia ranked the second place with 632 votes. 

Human Rights Center believes that regardless the observed violations and shortcomings, the legitimacy of the GBA elections shall not be questioned. At the same time, according to the acting regulations, the second round of the elections shall be conducted to elect the GBA chairperson between the first and second winner candidates. 

Human Rights Center