Elections in Shadow of Total Vote Rigging

Nona Suvariani, Tbilisi

“Elections were held on the background of total vote rigging,” stated representatives of the Georgian Human Rights Center. On the third day of the elections the center gave a press-conference where they discussed the wide range of violations that their observers had encountered on May 21 during the parliamentary elections.

The Human Rights Center had previously predicated in some of its articles that there would be many instances of election violations for the parliamentary elections that were scheduled for May 21, and the number would be even greater than what existed in any previous elections. Observers from the center can state with full confidence, albeit said, their dire predictions came true. There were oppression on voters carried out during the pre-election campaign, violations during the elections process, and it concluded with the harassment of election observers.

The Human Rights Center observed the elections at polling stations in Zugdidi, Sagarejo, Lagodekhi, Sighnaghi, Telavi, Akhaltsikhe, Kvareli, Batumi and Gori districts.

Ucha Nanuashvili, executive director of the Human Rights Center, observed the on-going situation in the Azerbaijan villages in the Kakheti Region of East Georgia. He stated the violence used during these elections puts the election into a totally different category than compared with previous elections.

“They even tried to kick observers out of the polling stations and made all effort to get rid of any extra watching eyes. Consequently, they would have a free hand to obtain their desired results. In comparisons, such things did not occur during any previous elections. Those working at the polls did all what they could to eliminate all traces of the many violations. When one of the journalists recorded how commission members brought in 300-400 IDs, he was beaten and had his camera smashed. An observer was beaten and kicked out of the polling station because he made some remark over an election violation. One of the observers was also beaten because he protested when the ballot box was physically taken out of the polling station. It happened in the afternoon. After the box was brought back, it became impossible to throw a single ballot paper in it because it was already packed to capacity. Those at the polls wanted to break our camera as we recorded the beating of the one journalist who observed violations of ballots. They also broke that camera before it was over. Actually, several commission members and observers from a range of opposition parties made a corridor and we somehow managed to save the video-recording. This is not an isolated incident and there were many such recorded instances.”

Soso Papuashvili, lawyer for the Human Rights Center, coordinated the observers from the center throughout Georgia. He states that observers were abused or threatened.

“For us, as a non-governmental organization, it is most important that we observed the situation that had never happened before.  Nobody could ever have imagined the extent to how things happened. I mean beating of observers from non-governmental organization that occurred in many polling stations, especially in East Georgia. Moreover, observers were under constant psychological and physical repression, even threatened with weapons.  Our observers documented only some fundamental violations at most stations. When they demanded the chairperson of the commission to react upon the violation the person who had brought the matter to the attention was then verbally insulted. In the afternoon the same controversy turned into physical oppression and a serious quarrel resulted. Consequently, we had to evacuate most of our observers from the assigned polling stations. Their lives were in danger. Commission members had no limits – they even assaulted women. Representatives of the National Movement and representatives of the Special Operative Department slapped Nana Pazhava, journalist of the Human Rights Center at one of the polling stations in Zugdidi only because she wanted to take a photo.”

Soso Papuashvili added that violence was used not only towards observers but towards the voters themselves.

“Our observers encountered with facts in Kakheti Region when candidates from the National Movement (mostly single mandate candidates) arrived at polling stations together with predetermined groups of people. Later we found out that these people turned out to be former prisoners who were especially released from prison a short time ago to participate in elections. Based on the observed situation, we could assess that National Movement, the ruling party and criminals had made a deal for mutual benefit. The prisoners were told to assist single mandate candidates in exchange of their freedom. Supposedly, their assistance meant to terrorize people.”

Soso Papuashvili said he did not have any illusion that parliamentary elections would be carried out without violations. Our organization observed numerous and various violations that occurred during previous elections as well: so-called carousels (voting at one and then another stations, letting people into the polling station without marking their fingers, stuffing of ballot boxes with fake votes, annulling or tampering with final protocols and overall suppression of the democratic process.

Soso Papuashvili speaks about the violations that he personally observed in Tbilisi.

“Groups of people were mobilized in front of polling stations. They were mostly women and they had prepared the voters’ lists in advance. On the lists were names, telephone numbers and other information about potential voters. The women called people and requested them to come to the polling stations.  We tried to find out what kind of list it was and why they called people and made them come to the polling station. They answered they were voters registered at their polling station and wanted to mobilize them. We think, the National Movement and police department selected those people in advance. For example, an activist of the ruling party lives in the residential building # 20 of the second district of Vazha Pzhavela Avenue in Tbilisi. He is very active and has information about his neighbor’s political opinion. He was selecting people who could accept money. There is the possibility that the ruling party was buying votes outright. The lists, the women in front of the polling stations had, were lists of similar “bribed” people. If not bribed, the people on the list voted for the ruling party because of their relatives among party members or some other kinship or close relationships. Or these people were oppressed with the support of criminals who terrorized people threatening with harassment if they did not vote for the National Movement.”

“Another incident in the Gali district of West Georgia exposes that much of what transpired was previously staged in order to attract people’s attention to similar dramatic events.”

Ucha Nanuashvili: shares his experience about the methods used of faking the elections that were actually observed during the elections. He claims the procedure was carried out alongside blatant violations. There are photo and video materials exposing attempts of election fraud and harassment of journalists as well as election observers.

For example, many people in Azerbaijani villages have similar names and surnames and they could only be told apart based on their ID numbers. Consequently, one person could vote several times. People were making statements in favor of certain candidates at polling stations; Ucha Nanuashvili stated that such violations did not occur during election elections. Aside from this, posters of the National Movement were put up on the walls at the polling stations and written notices to vote suggested to 5 – the National Party when casting your vote.

“Several people were voting in the booth at the same time. The number of ballot papers and voters did not coincide with each other almost at every polling station throughout Georgia. The ballot papers were fewer than the counted vote. The registration seal would some disappear, and we also discovered when ballot papers had been sealed in their envelopes in advance. There were occasions when voters did not approach registrars who represented various opposition parties. Everybody took registrations at one concrete registrar who was from the National Movement. In one case, an observer from the NGO New Generation-New Initiative acted as a registrar. Representatives of not only this NGO but from another organization “Racio legie” also took part in the violations. They were transporting people from one to other polling stations where law enforcers acted as observers at the same time. Many police were at the polling stations dressed in civilian clothes and they worked as commission members.

By 10:00 am the commission members had not sorted out functions among them yet. Commission members did not accept complaints claiming they had received similar orders. They prevented us from video-recording the polling process.  They finally kicked us out of the polling station stating and claimed that only commission’s chairperson had right to record the process.

People rushed into the polling stations at the last moment based on previous agreed arrangements. They had hidden ballot papers in their trousers; these people had been paid to carry out such acts. They rushed into the polling station where they pushed the ballot papers into the ballot box. There was total chaos and disorder at stations and nobody could control the situation.

Soso Papuashvili stated that violent incident happened at the Georgian-Abkhazian Administrative border, village of Khurcha, which was almost certainly staged in advance in order to draw public attention to tragedy from total rigging in the region and all of Georgia.

Ivar Dale, a representative of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, also observed the elections on May 21. He decided to examine the place of accident in the village of Khurcha on the next day, on May 22. Eye-witnesses retailed him that Georgian voters did travel to Georgia to take part in the elections.

“The buses stopped at the soccer ground in the Moreover, journalists and TV Reporters were on the place before the much reported incident. Reportedly, the village of Khurcha lies inside the de-militarized zone and the nearest Georgian military base is twenty minutes drive from the actual scene of the incident. Now the question is raised how armed forces managed to arrive at the place so rapidly over bad roads. Other evidence that made UN military expert the ever more suspicious was that the kinds of propelled grenades used required specific training, and these devices cannot be easily fired, special skills and training is needed on the part of the shooter. In addition, they can be only be fired from a very short distance.”

Ivar Dale also thinks that the tragic scene of the explosion was staged in advance in order to attract public attention and this put innocent human life at risk.