Watchdog NGO Slams Authorities for Violations in By-Elections

(Tbilisi, Civil Georgia, December 2, 2002) – The election watchdog NGO International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), which observed MP by-elections on November 30, says, “elections were held again with serious violations, that destroys citizens’ confidence in election process.”

By-elections were held in Rustavi, Samtredia, Abasha and Tbilisi’s Saburtalo election districts. In Samtredia and Abasha nominees of the pro-governmental Citizens’ Union of Georgia party won the elections. In Rustavi and capital city’s Saburtalo district elections were invalidated due to low turnout of the voters.

“November 30 elections proved once more that the grave concern of the Georgian society about fair conduct of elections has serious basis,” ISFED statement says.

The watchdog NGO reports that the ISFED observers have faced problems especially in Rustavi election district, where attempts were made to bribe the observers and the threats were issued by the local election commission members against them.

One of the observers of the ISFED in Rustavi Medea Beridze, 37, died of heart attack on December 1. ISFED claims that heart failure of Medea Beridze occured after she was blackmailed after having refused to take a bribe. .

“November 30 elections, as well as the local elections of June 2, 2002 give the grounds to ISFED and NGOs (participating in the ISFED observation campaign) to state that authorities and the Central Election Commission intentionally sabotage conducting of democratic and fair elections,” the ISFED statement says.

The NGO assumes that such trend threatens the Parliamentary elections due in 2003.

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