Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi
“Kutaisi is meeting the municipality elections with unarranged polling stations. The date of the elections was unofficially announced 6 months ago. Despite that, nothing was done and the commission members have to work in unbearable conditions throughout the whole month,” the Kutaisi office of the Republic Party spread statement.
Polling stations in Kutaisi have always been widely discussed during all previous elections. The opposition parties always complained about it but in vain. Apparently, neither the municipality elections of 2010 will be exception in this direction.
“The polling stations look like the abandoned and forgotten buildings rather than the place where people (commission members) have to work throughout the month very hard. There are three poling stations in the district where I am single mandate candidate; all three polling stations are in poorest conditions. In the polling station # 27, the election lists were put up three days later because of the unbearable conditions there. Before that, the chairperson of the commission had the lists in his home. I do not say anything about the sanitary situation; there is no toilet and no water-tap at all,” said the single mandate candidate of the Alliance for Georgia in Dzelkviani election district in Kutaisi Nato Katamadze.
“There are terrible conditions in the polling stations. Despite my wish to observe the elections, I definitely know that I will not visit to observe elections in that polling station. I think, nobody will go there … there are no chairs, no toilet there… it is impossible to work there. Furthermore, the situation in the polling station discourages you to work…. If I am sent somewhere else, I will go (of course in proper conditions); otherwise I will refuse to observe the elections at all,” said representative of the non-governmental organization who wanted to keep his name anonymous.
126 polling stations were opened in Kutaisi for the upcoming municipality elections of 2010. Proper working conditions are only in several polling stations. However, there are PSs where it is impossible even to enter.
“There are terrible situation and no sanitary conditions in the polling stations # 17 and # 111. That means, the situation is very hard in all three PS in Dzelkviani district. Was it so difficult for the election commission to create normal conditions in the them?” said Nato Katamadze.
One of the polling stations in the same district is full of pigeons all day long and it has already caused serious disagreement.
The members of the district election commission stated that everything is ready to carry out democrat elections in Kutaisi and there are no obstacles for it.
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