Manon Bokuchava
Kvemo Kartli was the most outstanding region in Georgia during the last presidential and parliamentary elections in regard with violations. Together with various violations, experts said that the representatives of the opposition parties in the polling stations were oppressed. People still speak about various problems at the upcoming municipality elections. The most interesting topic for voters is the office of the regional election commission # 21 which was opened next to the office of the district governor.
“Great oppositionists have come!” you will often hear similar phrases from the employees of the district administration. They laugh at the representatives of the opposition parties who are members of the election commission.
“The law does not forbid opening the office of the election commission in the public agency. The Central Election Commission is entitled to decide on similar issues,” clarified the representatives of the Rustavi office of the Young Lawyers Association.
Expert of the international law Sandro Baramidze said that the situation is not so simple and he recalled Article 49 of the Election Code of Georgia. Here is an extract from the Election Code of Georgia which regulates the location of the offices of the election commissions and rules of polling.
Article 49: Arrangement of the Polling Station (28.12.2009 N 2525)
1. Central and local governmental agencies will assign the buildings and equipments necessary for the election to the election commissions for free for a short term.
2. The election commission shall not have office and shall not open the polling station in the building where there:
a) Political parties;
b) State agencies and local self-governmental agencies are located except the cases when there is no other suitable building in the district to host the elections in accordance to the law. The district election commission is entitled to take the decision about the location.
c) Police stations (except in cases similar to the situation described in “b”).
Another article of the Election Code which was mentioned by the lawyer Sandro Baramidze is article 17 which states that “the election administration is independent from other state agencies within its competence.”
“Although the law does not directly state that the district election commission shall not have office in a public agency, in accordance to Articles 17 and 49 to ensure the equal rights for the candidates, the election commission shall not have the office next to the office of the district governor,” said Sandro Baramidze.
The action of the local government reminded the local coordinators of the opposition parties of the proverb – “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”.
Representative of the Christian Democrat Party in Gardabani Soso Ioseliani said that their representatives are not insulted at the meetings of the regional election commission but that the principle of equality is really breached.
“Similar situation has psychological impact on our representatives. There are enough buildings in Gardabani and if they wished, they could open the office of the regional election commission in a different building,” Ioseliani said.
Representative of the Movement for the Just Georgia in Kvemo Kartli region Nukri Shatirishvili requests that more attention be paid to this issue.
The coexistence of the district administration and the regional election commission in Gardabani continues without additional noise. The representatives of the opposition parties state that they will not be surprised if the polling station is opened on the ground floor of the district administration building.
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