TOL Georgia

Media Bias and Dubious Elections

January 1st, 2008 by jibs

Dieter Boden, Head of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission (EOM), says the pre-elections media coverage of the Georgia’s presidential contenders is “unbalanced”. 

“From time to time television evidently apportions more airtime to one of the presidential candidates compared with the rest. The share of the governmental candidate [Mikheil Saakashvili] in the pre-election TV campaign is tremendous.” he told newspaper Kviris Palitra. [media.ge , December 26]

Saakashvili’s elections ads are visibly omnipresent in the media. In one of them, he meets the pensioners who thank him for his reforms which saved their lives. Misha shows weakness and a tear rolls down his cheek. It is an emotional ad, if you think its genuine. Although it should be noted that Misha can be emotional — according to one source from personal conversations, during a meeting with youngsters following the ouster of Aslan Abashidze in 2005, Misha was authentically moved by a small boy’s story — he could barely hold his tears.

But after four years, his tears are less genuine. Brutal dispersal of the demonstrators this November comes into a stark contrast to “soft” Misha. He claims to have felt every blow the demonstrators received and tear gas made him cry. I am not sure who buys this, but if his supporters do, then great. Good luck with the elections.

If only the elections were free and fair. There two ways to judge the elections: the pre-elections period and the aftermath. Print media is full of stories about how Misha manages to bring the crowds for his speeches. Here is a general pattern: his supporters are bussed to the location hours before he arrives, then the locals working in the state sector are ordered to come with friends to join his activists. The state friendly media asks for interviews and Misha is praised.

Every presidential candidate would like to have a big audience — but such methods raise fears about the end result. Why is this done, if most people in the crowd might actually vote for someone else? I think the big crowds will be used as evidence to support Misha’s landslide victory, even though odds are slim if the polls are trusted. [Messenger, December 26]

As for after the elections, it is feared that the inflated voters’ lists will be used for the right candidate. Four years ago, there were 2 million and something voters, now there are 3.4 million. Why such a difference, no one seems to have convincing answers. January 5 is not far away, however, if Misha indeed secures a landslide victory, fresh protests are almost inevitable. Would Misha feel the truncheons again? Maybe some tear gas?

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