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Broken Promises - living for today and voting for tomorrow …

May 29, 2008

Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi

Elections are won by broken promises, mindset of hope – that at least a little something will be changed in future to the better. People live for today and vote for tomorrow. During the pre-election campaign voters received just a sample of better things to come - paved roads and some streets with lighting. However, if the elections promises stay true to history, voters will still be walking along damaged roads and darkened streets.

     

“It has been and will always be so – so why should anyone be disappointed. Activists of the National Movement visited us a hundred times a day. They promised to repair playgrounds, schools, streets, you name it … they even delivered construction materials and dumped it on site.  It still remains; it may be there for some time to come. However, on the Election Day, it was as if there was a rush to get the job done under a deadline.  Voters were being hauled to polling stations and so many promises were being made,” said residents of Kharebava Street.

The gamelan worked and this was demonstrated when the Parliamentary Elections of 2008 which was observed by numerous local and foreign observers, ended with the clear victory of the ruling National Movement party. Nonetheless, in spite of promises and much fanfare, not  everibody is happy.

“If I, my neighbors, friends, relatives and their relatives for opposition parties then just how the ruling party easily won the elections. It is not that hard to understand – they rigged the results. It was not all that difficult.  A few voters actually participated in the polls and percentage of direct falsification was also low. In spite of all our hopes that things would get better with each election we find ourselves again disappointed. Nothing has changed for better and it is perhaps even worst now. The streets are without out lights as we are without hope. All that remains are the heaps of conduction materials and the list of broken promises and pack of lies. Where are the promised churches and paved roads” said Tamaz Kapanadze, a resident of Kutaisi?

   

The elections, observed by OSCE, UN and other international organizations throughout Georgia, also disappointed the nation with their turning of a bind eye. The elections showed how old people voted for worthy future, thousands of unemployed people voted for jobs, and collectively it ended with the victory of the single candidate of the ruling party in the Imereti region with 45, 9 % of the cast vote. Now the former regional governor is blamed for stealing votes from opposition candidates. However, he has already been congratulated for a job well-done. Akaki Bobokhidze, the winner, is certain that Kutaisi residents actually trusted and that some even voted for him.

Before that, during the pre-election campaign, population of Kutaisi, the second largest city in Georgia, often complained about darkened streets and problems with the water supply. Moreover, the streets are dug up and it continues to be a real mess. However, in spite of such problems, supporters of the National Movement were still able to drive round the city and blowing their horns, shouting and waving their flags on May 21.
 

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