Gulo Kokhodze
Several complaints were written in Samtskhe-Javakheti region during the municipal elections on May 30, 2010. The Human Rights Center collected data about the ongoing situation in the polling stations throughout the region; the center found out how active the voters were and what the observers said about the elections.
Voting in Public
The polling station # 7 in the village of Idumala in Aspindza district opened earlier at 6:45 am. 10 out of 310 voters had already voted before 9:00 am. At 8:45 am 55-year-old Irina Kedelashvili appeared at the PS. She marked number 5 (the election number of the ruling party) in the ballot paper on the registration table and added she had nothing to hide. “I have to do it – I have two sons: one of them is in the army and the second is in the police,” Irina Kedelashvili explained.
There was a queue of voters at the registration table in the PS # 23 in Aspinda election district # 39. The citizens leaving the booth caused chaos at the PS. They could not make out numbers on the paper in the dark booth. Commission members assisted them “to make out the numbers” outside the booth.
Chairman of the polling station Malkhaz Mosidze clarified to the voter where the National Movement was written on the ballot paper.
Akhaltsikhe
Every polling station in Akhaltsikhe election district # 37 was opened at 7:00 am. Two non-institutional security guards were at the polling station # 1 in Akhaltsikhe district from the early morning. They said that their boss had sent to the polling station.
Observer from the organization Youth Movement – Our Generation Mariam Akopashvili was at the polling station. We asked her which organization she represented and whether they had observers in other polling stations in the district; she replied that she could answer our question only after calling the office. Short time later Akopashvili said that she was from the Central Election Commission (CEC) and did not know anything about other members at all. Akopashvili explained that an acquaintance had brought her to the PS but could not recall his name.
The polling station # 7 in the Akhaltsikhe election district # 37 was overcrowded. The strange people left the small room after the media arrived at the PS.
Chaos in the Polling Station
There was chaos at the polling station # 6 in Akhaltsikhe district at 2:00 pm. Several dozens of voters, who arrived at the polling station together, created uncontrolled situation. It was impossible to make out who was entering and who was leaving the booth; who was dropping a ballot paper in the box and who was getting registered. Nobody remembered the marking at all. Observer of the Christian-Democrat Movement Giorgi Javakhidze wrote a complaint regarding the disorder.
Adigeni
The polling station # 4 in the village of Benari in Adigeni election district # 38 opened at 7:00 am. The procedures started at 8:00 am. The first voter – 18-year-old Giorgi Chilashvili arrived at 8:00 am. He was the son of the commission chairperson and represented the political party “Topadze-Entrepreneurs” at the PS.
Five villages are united in the polling station of Benari: Khevasheni, Benara, Untsa, Nakurdevi and Sholaveri. The residents of other villages were brought to the PS by mini-buses. When we asked who brought them to the PS, they answered: “Either the National Movement or the district administration sent the bus; we are not sure.” The driver denied it and said that he had brought the people according to his own wish and nobody had paid money for fuel either.
Several mini-buses served the voters at the polling station all day long. According to the chairwoman of the commission Ketevan Obolashvili the transportation was funded by the local authority.
1 302 voters were registered at the polling station # 7 in the village of Varkhani in Adigeni district. 5 voters were registered in the special list and 36 applications were submitted for the portable ballot box. The PS had received only 1 250 ballot papers. The PS was closed at 8:00 pm. According to final data, 962 people took part in the elections. Commission chairman Nodar Sabadze clarified that no violations were observed at the PS and no complaints were written.
“Turnout of voters is normal; no violations were observed,” said chairwoman of the polling station # 2 Lia Balakhashvili. The observer of the organization “Academy of Peace and Development” Elene Balakhashvili repeated the same. “I have been at the PS since the morning and no violations were observed here.” Neither another representative of the organization Tariel Endeladze noticed any violations at the polling station.
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