National Deal

The president of Georgia Saakashvili stated that fair municipal election of Georgia in 2010 is the issue of dignity for the country. He ordered the members of the National Movement not to ‘give reason to the opposition parties for complaining” about their involvement in the election process. However, in Kakheti region, the secretaries in the election commissions, who were introduced by the opposition parties and were to protect the interests of them, in fact cooperate with the National Movement.


“The United National Movement” won the parliamentary elections in 2008 and occupied 119 out of total 150 seats in the parliament. The political environment has been extremely polarized since then. Many opposition parties boycotted the parliament, claiming the elections were rigged. According to the evaluations of the OSCE democratic institutions and human rights office, the armed conflict in August of 2008 increased the political tension. In April of 2009, the large-scaled protest demonstrations started in Tbilisi. Demonstrators requested constitutional and election reforms; freedom of media and judiciary, and release of political prisoners.

With the support of the Washington based National-Democratic Institute (NDI) for international affairs, in March of 2009 the group members working on the election reform started negotiations. The monitoring organizations also participated in the process together with local political parties. As a result, the group agreed to grant the position of the secretaries in the election commissions to the opposition parties. In December of 2009, the parliament introduced the amendment to the Election Code. In accordance to the Article 221 Part 2 - 21 of the Code, “the secretary of the election commission shall be elected among the members introduced by the parties except the member who was appointed by the party wining the previous elections.”

A leader of the opposition political party “the New Rights” Mamuka Katsitadze said every procedure is registered by the secretary during the election process and decision to elect him/her from the opposition parties was very important.

According to the Article 39 of the Election Code, the secretary of the election commission: “prepares the projects of the commission resolutions; is responsible for the release of public information; draws up the protocols of the commission sessions, among them the final protocols too; s/he implements other responsibilities envisaged under the Election Code.”

In parallel to these amendments, the Article 55 and 12626 of the Election Code imposes the fine of 2 000 GEL over the chairperson or secretary of the election commission if any corrections are made into the polling or final protocols. Member of the Central Election Commission from the Republic Party Zurab Marakvelidze said, during the negotiations in the office of the NDI they did not discuss the administrative liability at all and the parliament introduced the amendment after the working group agreed the secretaries will be from the opposition parties.

Vice-speaker of the parliament from the ruling party Mikheil Machavariani said “the amendments to the Election Code, which is a product of a very tough work, is a serious step towards the fair elections.”


New election commissions are set up for each election. Based on the Article 36 of the Code, 6 commission members in the polling stations are elected by the corresponding district election commissions; the 7 members are elected by the qualified political parties. A qualified party is a political party or a block, which has a fraction in the parliament; or has gained more than 4 % of voters during the previous elections.

According to the timetable of the CEC, the commissions in the polling stations were staffed before the deadline – April 26. In accordance to the recent amendments to the code, the secretaries were elected from the opposition parties – that is important point for the democracy and transparency of the election procedures; the chairman of the CEC Zurab Kharatishvili stated on April 26.

According to the statistic data of the CEC, every opposition party enjoyed this right; however, in Kakheti region, the members of the opposition parties By Ourselves, Entrepreneurs and Christian-Democrat Movement appointed their representatives on the position of the secretaries in 252 out of total 305 polling stations. Our journalistic investigation exposed that most of those secretaries are somehow connected with the ruling party. Some of them are public servants; others working at the institutions funded from the state budget. Like other regions of Georgia, in Kakheti people can keep their jobs if they do not annoy the local authority.

It is noteworthy, that the “By Ourselves” and Christian-Democrat Party participate in the municipal elections with the status of one election block.


Political union “By Ourselves” does not have office in any of eight districts of Kakheti region; they do not have representatives either. The commission members in polling stations from this party are mostly teachers. Program director of the monitoring organization Transparency International – Georgia Nina Khatiskatsi stated that teachers, as public servants, are under governmental oppression and they are administrative resource acceptable for the government. Secretary of the election commission in Mukuzani village polling station # 12 in Gurjaani election district # 12 Mzevinar Khechoshvili represents the party By Ourselves and she is the manager of the village public school; secretary of the polling station # 19 in the village of Chumlaki Nineli Gogosashvili is a teacher of the primary school in the village; secretary of the polling station # 20 in the same village Nunu Berulashvili is a teacher of the public school; secretary of the polling station # 14 in the village of Veslitsikhe Nino Lekashvili is a public relation manager of the village public school; secretary of the polling station # 11 in the village of Vazisubani Tariel Abazashvili was coordinator of the election HQ of the ruling party during the parliamentary elections on May 21, 2008 in the village.

Teachers, public servants and activists of the National Movement are members and secretaries of the polling stations from the political party Industry Will Survive Georgia (Entrepreneurs). Secretary of the first polling station in Gurjaani election district # 12 Mzia Atabegashvili is accountant of the JSC “Resort Akhtala”. The resort-house is a state organization. The director of the same JSC and active supporter of the National Movement Goga Utiashvili is the chairman of the first polling station; secretary of the polling station # 5 in Gurjaani district Zurab Mchedlidze represents the political party “Entrepreneurs” but he is chief accountant of the JSC GurjaanGaz; the director of the same company Giorgi Machavariani is the chairman of the same polling station.

Secretary of the polling station # 4 in Gurjaani district Manana Arakishvili also represents the Entrepreneurs but she is an economist of the Communal Service Ltd. This organization is totally funded from the Gurjaani district budget and its annual funding amounts to 134 700 GEL. The director of the organization is Davit Imerlishvili. His wife Tamar Samkharauli is a head of the chancellery at the Gurjaani municipality board. Currently, she is the chairwoman of the polling station # 4. It is noteworthy that the election HQ of the National Movement in Gurjaani is located in the building owned by Davit Imerlishvili.

Secretary of the polling station # 22 in the village of Gurjaani is Nanuli Ghugoshvili from the “Entrepreneurs” but she is an employee of the “Aisi – Gurjaani Ice-Cream, Ltd”. Director General of the company Guram Berikashvili is the number 4 on the election list of the National Movement in Gurjaani district. Secretary of the polling station # 26 in the village of Vejini Tamar Papashvili represents the Entrepreneurs but she is an info-manager at Vejini public school.

Maia Tandashvili and Nino Teteloshvili are teachers at the public school of Kardenakhi village; they are secretaries in the polling stations # 31 and 33 in the village from the “Entrepreneurs”. Nunu Berulashvili is also a teacher at the public school in Chumlaki who is a commission member and secretary of the polling station # 20 in the village.

We got in touch with several secretaries and asked them to clarify how it happened that they represented the opposition parties in the commissions when they are considered to be the supporters of the ruling party.

Shorena Zurabishvili is secretary at the polling station # 21 in Kvareli election district; she represents the “Entrepreneurs.”

-My relative employed me in the commission; does it make any difference for you who he is. The meeting was held and commission members elected me to be the secretary:
-Who nominated you for the position?
-Representative of the political party “By Ourselves” Tamar Kevlishvili.
-Are you member of the “Entrepreneurs”?
-Yes I am.
-Do you have certificate of the party membership? Can you show me?
-No I do not have; I am not member of the party.
-Do you know who the head of the district office of the party is?
-I do not know and I do not care about it.

Maia Shalutashvili, secretary of the polling station # 22 in the village of Shilda from the Entrepreneurs.

-Ia Iordanashvili nominated me for the position of the secretary; she is commission member from the party “By Ourselves”; I am not member of the “Entrepreneurs;” a relative brought me to the commission from this party list.

-Who is your relative; is he member of the Entrepreneurs? Do you know anybody from their district office?
-Does it have any importance for you? No, I do not know anybody.

Mzevinar Khechoshvili, secretary of the Mukuzani polling station # 12 in Gurjaani district from the party “By Ourselves”:

-I became commission member like others did. I was appointed by others.
-Who offered you to be commission member from the party “By Ourselves?”
-I have told you I joined the commission like others did.
-Do you have experience in working in the election commission?
-Yes, I have.
-When and what did you work for? Were you the commission member during the parliamentary elections in 2008?
-No, I was an agitator at the polling station.
-Which party did you represent?
-Of course I represented the National Movement. (The member of the district election commission interfered in our conversation and said: she is the same oppositionist as Paata Davatia, the head of the By Ourselves is; why do you argue with her?)
-Yes, it is right. What else do you want?
-Were you nominated by the ruling party and you do whatever they order you, don’t you?
-Yes, I do; what else do you want to know? There is no problem. Do not judge me.”

Nunu Berulashvili, secretary of the polling station # 20 in the village of Chumlaki from the “By Ourselves”. “I am not member of the party. The village governor Abo Kasrelishvili called the teachers to the building of the village administration and there we agreed. Kasrelishvili told me I would represent the opposition party in the commission and I agreed.”

How the representatives of the local authority managed to appoint their people in the election commission with the mandates of the opposition parties “Entrepreneurs” and “By Ourselves”? -We asked the chairman of the political party Industry Will Survive Georgia (Entrepreneurs) Zurab Tkemaladze; he has signed the appointment documents of the candidates. “I know neither their surnames nor their first names. The chairperson of the district office selects the candidates. The members of the National Party do not represent our party but if there are some exceptions, it is fault of the local chairperson,” said Tkemaladze.

According to the Article 37 of the Election Code, decision of the authoritative political party on the appointment of the commission member is submitted to the district election commission within 46 days; for the municipal elections of May 30, 2010 the deadline was April 14. Chairman of the Gurjaani district office of the Entrepreneurs Will Survive Georgia Lado Kituashvili said he submitted the list of candidates on April 10.

Lado Kituashvili: “At 3:00 pm of April 10 I personally took the list of the party activists of all 51 polling stations in Gurjaani to the central office of the Entrepreneurs in Napareuli Street in Tbilisi. None of the candidates were associated with the National Movement. I handed the list to the manager Roena Chelishvili. The regional coordinator of the party Murman Katsadze also was there. On Tuesday, April 13, I called at the office; talked with Katsadze that an activist would bring the warrant and special forms where I had to write the agreed list and had to submit it to the district election commission. However, nobody brought the warrant and forms to our office.

“On April 14, I called at the central office several times but could not get answer. Later, I called the member of the Gurjaani district election commission Nazi Kituashvili from the “Entrepreneurs” who is my wife and asked her to find out what was going on. It turned out that a stranger had submitted the list to the district election commission without me. I do not know who submitted the list. Nazi Kituashvili gave me the copy of the list; when I compared with my list, only 5 of my candidates were on it; the rest people were strangers. I know compromises, negotiations and consideration of others’ interests, but who will try to expose me to be a traitor; I will not remain in the party.”