The spaces allocated for the pre-election propaganda turned into topics of controversy

Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi

During the pre-election period, the government constantly claims that the 2016 Parliamentary Elections and pre-election process shall be conducted according to the democratic standards, without any complications. In the response to that, the representatives of the opposition political parties complain about unfair conditions and injustice. In particular, they speak about limited access to the spaces for pre-election campaigns, which remain problematic, as it was during past elections.

  

“The issue is still unsolved. Any party has to agree with the central government and the City Mayor to organize a meeting with people, its own voters. It turns out that a lot depends on the decision of local authorities. What shall we think when we encounter the same problems? The administration of the Meskhishvili Theater agrees to allocate the space, but the Kutaisi City Hall always objects. In the beginning allegedly they agree, but later, they refuse in the last moment”, - Gogi Tsulaia, the Kutaisi Organization chairman of the political party Free Georgia, said. 

The National Movement also speak about the same topic. Giorgi Ukleba, the representative of the Kutaisi Organization of the UNM, explained that they could not reach an agreement with the Kutaisi City Hall. 

“We reached the agreement with the theater’s administration, but, in the last moment, we received the refusal from the City Hall. We conducted spontaneous meetings in the street. We indicated the violations many times and communicated the information to the relevant NGOs, who conduct pre-election monitoring”, - Giorgi Ukleba clarified. 

According to the law, the local self-government issues permission on the political parties to conduct pre-election propaganda in specially allocated buildings. That particular body has to ensure the solution of the issue and make it accessible equally for all existing political parties in the country. 

The Masks Theater and Children-Youth Park were allocated in Kutaisi for similar purposes. However, Avtandil Osephaishvili, the chairman of the Kutaisi District Election Commission #59, declared that the parties do not use the allocated spaces and prefer to conduct the meetings in other places. 

“They can address the District Election Commission and provide the information about exact date and time of the meeting with voters in order to avoid overlap with other political party’s activities and freely, without any side issues and offences, conduct the meetings”, - Osephaishvili declared. 

The representatives of the opposition political parties explained the allocated spaces are not convenient because of their location, as they are not in the city center. In this regard, the restrictions concern only the opposition. The single mandate candidates of the ruling party can occupy any administrative building, anytime during the day for unlimited hours in the city.