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Norwegian Helsinki Committee: Report from Election Observation

May 23, 2008

Extraordinary Parliamentary Elections in the Republic of Georgia

Observers: Ivar Dale, Aage Borchgrevink, Norwegian Helsinki Committee/Human Rights Centre of Georgia

Although technical procedures were handled effectively by the Precinct election commissions (PECs), the team made a number of observations indicating that the election was carried out in an atmosphere of intimidation, that may have affected voting patterns in the district.

Background
1. On 20 May 2008 the observer team went to Abasha in the Samegrelo district (election distric #63), and then to Svaneti where we arrived in the early morning of 21 May. During election day, we stayed in the Svaneti district (Election district #47) and observed opening, voting and counting procedures at 7 polling stations. We also visited the #47 DEC in Mestia, and interviewed voters, commission members, and unidentified “visitors” at the polling stations. On election day, the team used observation report forms of the International Election Observation Mission. On 22 May the team went to the village of Khurcha in the demilitarized zone on the border of Abkhazia, in order to investigate an incident which took place in the

Samegrelo
2. In Abasha, district no. 63, we received a complaint regarding intimidation of a member of the DEC. Julieta Lomaia, b. 1968, DEC member for the United Opposition (#7 on the party list, who fielded Konstantin Gamsakhurdia in the majoritarian elections in that district). Ms Lomaia stated that she had received a number of threatening phone calls, with the aim of intimidating her. She gave us a recording of a phone call from the number 891276415, which contained a conversation in which an unidentified man swears and shouts in a threatening manner at Ms Lomaia. At about 18.00 on 20 May, we went to the police station in Abasha to observe Ms Lomaia register a complaint about the incident. The police (MIA officer Mikheil Modebadze) first refused to register a complaint on what seemed like spurious grounds (there was no one there on duty, they did not have paper on which to write the complaint, they could not find an official stamp), but after some time a complaint was lodged and officially registered.

Svaneti
3. In Svaneti, district no. 47, we observed a strong presence of civilian and uniformed policemen, border guards, heavily armed unidentified special forces with masks, and unidentified civilians whom locals claimed were security officers from Tbilisi at the polling stations. The heavy presence of security and police detachments created an atmosphere of intimidation, especially in Mestia, the district center. The opposition candidate Viktor Dzhabaridze made a number of complaints about his observers and commission members being harassed by police and security officers driving around in cars without plates, some of the claims were supported by pictures and witnesses.

4. According to the Ombudsman of Georgia, Sozar Subari, who was interviewed by the team on 18 May, pressure was put on local officials, including police officers, to support the government candidates during the election. Allegedly, the head of police made his officers swear on an icon to vote for the National Movement and its candidate, Khakha Kvitsiani. One policeman refused, and was allegedly dismissed. The allegations were confirmed by a policeman from Mestia interviewed by the team.

5. In general opening, voting and counting procedures on election day went smoothly, and we observed relatively few irregularities. There were no video cameras in the seven polling stations visited by the team. However, in conclusion, although technical procedures were handled effectively by the Precinct election commissions (PECs), the team made a number of observations indicating that the election was carried out in an atmosphere of intimidation, that may have affected voting patterns in the district. Below is a list of specific observations.

6. At PEC #2 in Mestia there was a strong presence of police and security officers at the polling station. Some were in uniform, some were in civilian clothes (but driving in vehicles of the border police), while a group of what appeared to be special forces driving a military truck (with the licence plate ZXZ – 342), armed with automatic weapons and wearing masks approached the polling station on several occasions. A man who appeared to be in contact with several of the police detachments at the polling station, entered the polling station. The opposition candidate Viktor Dzhabaridze claimed that the man was a security official from Tbilisi by the name of Ochinkava. The man told us he was only a private visitor from Tbilisi, but did not explain his presence at the polling premises. There was a tense atmosphere at the PEC.

7. At PEC #1 in Mestia there was also a heavy police presence outside the PEC, including the detachment of armed and masked special forces.

8. At PEC #22 some voters were turned away even though they were on the list. The group of people who were turned away was a detachment of border guards stationed in the village of Molakhi. According to one of the border guards, Dzhimsher Margiani (b. 1968), he was told by the PEC chair person he could not vote there, and that he and his colleagues should go in a group to PEC #24 were they should vote together. There seemed to be no basis in the election law for this procedure,which was upheld by the CEC lawyer Elizbar Joparidze when PEC members from political parties called the CEC. A member of the PEC made a formal complaint about this, stating that this was an attempt to put pressure on the guards to vote for the government candidate. (We later asked the DEC about the procedure, they first claimed that the border guards were registered in lists in several PECs, but then retracted saying they only followed the orders of the CEC.) Only one PEC member went with the mobile ballot box, not two as prescribed by law. There was a tense atmosphere at the PEC.

9. At PEC #3 we received complaints from a PEC member about double voting. However, she became silent when the other PEC members came, and it became impossible to record her complaint in detail. Two men in civilian clothes were at the polling station, they identified themselves as “academics” from Tbilisi, but could not explain their presence at the polling station. We had the impression that PEC members were afraid to speak with us. PEC members did not always check identification documents, and sometimes did not put ink on the hands of voters.

10. At PEC #4 the chairman reported that three people had been turned away as they had ink on the hands. Only one PEC member went with the mobile ballot box, not two as prescribed by law. We had the impression that PEC members were afraid to speak with us.

11. At PEC #5 the Chairman prevented us from speaking with PEC members and party observers. There was an independent domestic observer from the organization ISFED there, by the name of Eka Kvitsiani. While accredited as a local observer, when asked, she did not know which organization she represented. When asked to explain why, the Head of the DEC joined the conversation, told her to be quiet, and started talking on her behalf. She claimed to have seen no irregularities during election day. She also confirmed that she was from the same village, and was a relative of the government candidate in the Svaneti district. We had the impression that PEC members were afraid to speak with us.

12. No irregularities were observed during the count in PEC #18 in Dizi village.


  

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