OSCE on the Elections in Georgia
January 6th, 2008 by jibs
Based on the preliminary report by the OSCE elections observation mission, the elections in Georgia “were in essence consistent with most OSCE and Council of Europe commitments and standards for democratic elections,
significant challenges were revealed which need to be addressed urgently.”
The report includes some of these challenges:
“The news coverage of private broadcasters monitored showed imbalance in favour of the ruling party’s candidate. Although, the news on public TV was somewhat more balanced in the time allocated to all candidates, the tone of its coverage favoured the former President.”
“…on contentious issues its members [Central Elections Commission] were not always observing the neutrality required of election administration, and acted in a partisan manner.”
“…inaccuracies on the voter list remain.”
“The distribution of vouchers for such things as utilities and medical supplies to vulnerable groups was criticized as an alleged misuse of budgetary funds in support of Mr. Saakashvili.”
“The vouchers prominently displayed that they were a subsidy from the President. Healthcare vouchers, as well as employment scheme leaflets, featured visually outstanding number “5”s – the number on the ballot
under which the UNM has run in elections since 2004. Distributors of vouchers sometimes asked recipients whether they would vote for Mr. Saakashvili, and asked them to sign documents confirming their support. Vouchers were in some cases distributed from UNM offices.”
“The inauguration of a new pipeline by Mr. Saakashvili in Akhalkalaki, as well as the official opening of Tbilisi-Senaki-Leselidze highway lighting system, were given the appearance of presidential events, not in accord with Mr. Saakashvili’s status as a candidate who does not currently hold public office.”
“The campaign was overshadowed by widespread allegations of intimidation and pressure, among others on public-sector employees. These included a number of confirmed cases of pressure on opposition supporters by the police and local officials to desist from campaigning, threats of arbitrary arrest or job dismissal and cases of landlords who were pressurized not to let premises for use as opposition campaign offices. Isolated instances of violence against opposition activists, including kidnapping, were reported and verified.
“A debate between the four main contestants did not take place as Mr.
Saakashvili chose not to take part and his three main rivals conditioned their participation upon the opportunity to debate with him.”
“The campaign coverage in news programs lacked balance on most monitored TV stations, with Mr. Saakashvili generally receiving the most
coverage.”
“Two nationwide private TV channels, Rustavi 2 and Mze, showed clear support for Mr. Saakashvili and provided him with substantial prime-time news coverage. For example, Rustavi 2, Mze and public TV broadcast live a 28-minute prime-time news item about a meeting of Mr. Saakashvili with teachers in Tbilisi. Other candidates did not receive such substantial coverage of their campaign events. In addition, no other candidate had a chance to directly address the citizens with a televised New Year greeting, which was broadcast by all three channels.”
“The very high cost of paid political advertising on television limited the candidates’ possibilities to campaign in the media. Three of them charged approximately ten times more for political advertising than for commercials. Two weeks before the election, public TV decreased its prices to make them more accessible for candidates, however they still remained twice as high as commercial rates. Only Mr. Saakashvili was able to place paid spots on all four nationwide channels.”
“Reports were submitted to various law enforcement and governmental bodies, with allegations of intimidation, kidnappings and attacks on opposition supporters and close family members, some implicating law enforcement officials. The police did not appear to sufficiently investigate such complaints, and the Interior Ministry reported that many cases have already been closed for lack of evidence. The OSCE/ODIHR EOM is not aware of any criminal prosecutions being initiated in such cases.”
“The most widespread procedural violations were related to inking safeguards, with not all voters being checked for ink in 15 per cent of polling stations visited, and ink not always being applied in 12 per cent. In addition, IEOM observers reported that during 12 polling stations visits, voters who
had already been inked were allowed to vote.”
“The presence of unauthorized persons, mostly police, was observed in 8 per cent of polling stations. In 13 cases, such persons were interfering in the work of the PEC. Domestic non-party observers were present in 94 per cent of polling stations visited, and candidate proxies, in 95 percent. Frequently, the number of proxies per candidate exceeded that stipulated in the UEC.”
“In addition, observers found CEC-produced stickers with the text “Where will you be on 5 January?”, with the “5” in a red circle visually resembling that used on Mr. Saakashvili’s campaign materials.”
“The vote count was evaluated less positively, with a significant number of IEOM observers assessing it as bad or very bad. In most polling stations observed, the counting process was very slow. A considerable number of PECs did not perform basic reconciliation procedures before opening the ballot boxes, such as establishing the number of voters who voted and entering it into the protocol. In nearly half of counts observed, voters’ choices were not read aloud during the count, and at times, PEC members and observers were not allowed to examine the ballots, in violation of the law. Determination of ballot validity was not always reasonable and consistent. Unauthorized persons frequently participated in the vote count.”
“Many PECs had problems completing the results protocol, and revised figures which had been entered into the protocol earlier. Occasionally, protocols had been pre-signed and completed in pencil rather than ink.”
The Reactions
After all these “challenges” Saakashvili says ”Georgia has proved that it can hold free, democratic, transparent and really fair elections. It was the most free and competitive election in the history of Georgia.”
Matthew Bryza, the deputy US secretary of state, expressed surprise at the oppositions’ protest: ”The USA does not understand the protest of the Georgian opposition”.
While Georgia’s acting president, Nino Burdjanadze, articulated the following opinion: “This is a huge achievement for all of us. This is a huge achievement for the authorities and the opposition, because despite serious political pressure and the high political temperature, we have managed to hold the election in a civilized manner.”
OK, maybe I read something wrong, or misunderstood the whole paradoxical nature of the report which goes “in line with the European values”, but if in any EU country the elections are conducted in such a manner — where media is biased, the votes are miscounted and different opinion is countered with intimidation and kidnapping, then…
Saakashvili came to power with vision and ideals that would move even the most pristine democrats. Now intimidation, threats, biased media, elections irregularities, misuse of state funds seem to have secondary value. Free and fair, is a slogan that must be backed with facts, not evaluations.
Onnik Krikorian Says
Sad. Very sad, and it would appear that there is every reason for the opposition to protest against the official results of the election. Even in Armenia I’ve never seen a preliminary report quite like this one. Indeed, if such a report were to be issued here it would actually mark regression and not progress in terms of democratization. I’m speechless, shocked and very disappointed.
Jan 6th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
dam Says
Apparently, the international community was grading this election on a pass/fail system. How someone could look at the OSCE report and not understand the protest of the Georgian opposition is beyond me. I guess that shows how low the bar was set in order for this to be declared a successful election. On the other hand, the opposition has not acquitted itself very well in all of this either. Unfortunately, the Georgian people are the real losers.
Jan 9th, 2008 at 9:42 am
jibs Says
Well thats what the opposition is fighting. I understand their concerns, and in fact they have very strong arguments. If half of the voting observed were faulty, then 2% margin is simply unfair. I don’t see the compromise coming from the authroties after the west has sealed the results as democratic. It is a big mistake on their part.
Moreover, these “challenges” were not of accidental character. I recall one of the observers, saying something like, such things happen in Europe all the time — son goes into the ballot box with his old mother — that is normal and understandable. NO — these violations were far more serious! And telling Georgians that they should make sure that such things don’t happen in the future is simply cynical. Next time there are elections, they will say exactly the same thing: “progress has been noted, but certain challenges remain”…
Jan 9th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Onnik Krikorian Says
Right, if it was just the matter of a few kids going into the polling booths with their mothers it would be another matter, but it isn’t. I know it sounds maybe strange to focus on this one aspect of what was reported by the international observers in their report, but even the abuse and exploitation of the number “5″ is really, um, taking the piss.
Unsophisticated and something that I would personally have hoped the international community have responded to by saying, “Misha… what the f**** are you up playing at? Do you think we’re stupid?” I don’t think that it was a mistake for the monitors to issues their conclusion when they did, however.
I am still somewhat confused as to how their report and their statement were almost two separate things. Almost like two different elections, in fact.
Now, I’m not saying that the opposition won. Some of what I’m hearing from Tbilisi is that many are surprised they did so well considering. However, what is interesting is that usually the international community says the ultimate conclusion and verdict is drawn by the population itself.
And that’s what the opposition is trying to do. That’s part of the democratic process and actually, it might even be encouraging to see this happen although the international media reporting Misha’s re-election prematurely was a little questionable. Yes, I almost fell for it as well, but anyway, things are still happening.
I’m not saying that the opposition won. I don’t think there’s any evidence for that. However, despite the administrative resources at his disposal, and the amount of illegalities even recorded by the OSCE, Saakashvili’s victory is slight enough for there to be reason to examine the issue of recounts and so on.
Like I said, it’s part of the democratic process, and it will be interesting to see if the opposition succeed in calling for a second round. However, that will have to be through lawful means. I mean, they have to have reason and evidence to call for the invalidation of ballots or recounts.
Let’s see. Apparently there will be a rally called for Sunday and I’m tempted enough to maybe venture up to Tbilisi to see depending on what happens next.
Jan 9th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
jibs Says
The opposition has not won, but the second round would be inevitable if not for those “challenges”. More interesting is the exit polling controversy: the organizers were financed by the authorities, through their pocket Television stations — Adjara, Rustavi 2, Mze and Georgian Public TV — something that the opposition was against from the start. If the intention was to hold free and fair elections, this issue must have been agreed upon with the opposition.
Even with those exit polls, which pitted Saakashvili’s vicotry with 54%, 28% interviewed refused to disclosed who they would vote for. It doesn’t take to be a rocket scientist to understand why someone would not disclose their choice. What would be result of exit poll if those people we counted in? The truth is that a lot of people are afraid of possible repressions from the authorities.
I personally think Saakashvili is not a president yet. The opposition will not back down before the violations are investigated and are called the right name. Otherwise, I dont see how they could succeed in parliamentary elections, if similar “challenges” are observed and then overlooked.
Jan 9th, 2008 at 1:37 pm