Raising the Dead for Parliamentary Elections

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti

According to Article 9 of the Georgian Election Code, the deadline for making changes into the election lists has already expired. May 9th was the last day where changes could have been made to the election lists based on recent court decisions. However, according to the request of opposition parties, the CEC prolonged the period for changes until May 13. Now the final and complete version of the lists will be ready for May 15. According to the most recent data, 3,461, 851 citizens are registered as voters on the election lists. However, in spite of good intentions and many comments of observation organizations, dead people are included on the lists.

Tsiala Lamazoshvili, Guram Mchedlishvili, TarielAmonashvili and Giorgi Nanichashvili, died in 2007-2008, and are included on the election lists at Election Districts # 14, 15 of the Telavi Election Precinct # 17.

Natalia Begashvili, chairperson of the Gurjaani Precinct Election Commission # 12, states that they have removed nearly 300 dead people from the list. However, Zurab Kandelaki, the head of the District Election HQ for the United Opposition, told that there are still dead people on the lists.

In spite of the claim that “Dead people were removed from the lists last year too.” However, somehow they found their way back to the list.  There remains to be many deceased voters on the list. For instance, Aleksi Lomidze, born in 1929, and Giorgi Varsimashvili born in 1938, etc,” stated Zurab Kandelaki.

In spite of presented facts, the election commission continues to deny the complaints of the opposition. “The mortality rate in Georgia is high; consequently the commission should look closer at checking the election lists and to once and for all remove the name of the dead from it. However, after May 13 no changes can be made into the lists,” said Begashvili.

Members of the Labor Party also speak out about the living-dead on the lists. Soso Shatberashvili, a representative of the party states that their regional representatives provided the regional election commission with the information about several scores of dead voters. “We submitted the list of the departed to the CEC before the deadline for changes expired for the Presidential Elections on January 5 2008. However, in spite of our efforts, those names still remain on the lists. We think same will also happen during the upcoming parliamentary election,” said Shatberashvili.

According to election observation organizations, unlike presidential elections, the process to search dead people among election lists has become complicated for the up-coming parliamentary elections. “In the past it was easy to look through the election lists on the website of the CEC. However, now it is impossible. You cannot find a person unless have his/her personal number according to ID, or based on the Georgian Passport of the departed,” said Ucha Nanuashvili, Executive Director of the Human Rights Center.

International organizations also have made some complaints about the reliability of election lists.