Pre-Election Assessment Report for the October 31, 2020 Parliamentary Elections

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020

(The period from September 1st to October 16th, 2020)

NNLE Civil Platform 20/20 Report prepared by:

Vaso Urushadze - NNLE Civil Platform 20/20 Chairman

Tengiz Tevzadze - NNLE Civil Platform 20/20 - Executive Director

Lasha Pharulava - NNLE Civil Platform 20/20 – Program Director

Alika Kuprava - NNLE Civil Platform 20/20 - Expert

Gulad Kantaria - NNLE Civil Platform 20/20 - Expert

Giorgi Davitadze - NNLE Civil Platform 20/20 - Expert

Edited by: Tamar Shoshiashvili

The report was developed with the support of NNLE Hub Georgia and NNLE Law and Equality Center. Expert and practical work was carried out by NNLE Civil Platform 20/20. The mentioned study doesn’t represent the position of NNLE Hub Georgia and NNLE Law and Equality Center and is based on the analysis and views of experts of the Civic Platform 20/20.

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020

Contents Introduction...... 4 Political Context of Pre-Election Period ...... 4 Election Administration ...... 5 Staffing of district and precinct election commissions ...... 5 Voter Registration ...... 10 Pre-election campaign ...... 11 Marneuli Incident ...... 11 Cases of threats against a journalist and restriction of professional activities ...... 12 Other incidents identified during the election campaign ...... 12 Use of administrative resources in the election campaign - through the use of human resources employed in the public sector in the election campaign ...... 15 Rejection to extend the powers of a public school directors for political reasons ...... 15 Financing of Electoral Subjects ...... 16 Registration of the Parties/assignment of numbers ...... 20 Legal Disputes ...... 20 Media in the pre-election period ...... 22 Recommendations ...... 23 Conclusion ...... 24

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020

Introduction

NNLE Civil Platform 20/20 is a non-entrepreneur, non-commercial legal entity established on the basis of Georgian legislation, which carries out monitoring of 2020 parliamentary election in Georgia. For this purpose, "Civic Platform 20/20" applies to various measures. Among them, it prepares a report on the pre-election period, will observe the voting process in the polling stations throughout Georgia and will prepare the final assessment of the elections.

Our observation mission focuses on informing groups of individuals, conducting objective, legal assessments of the pre-election process and, in the event of a pandemic, promoting public services to ensure that elections are conducted in a safe and competitive environment.

On September 1, 2020 NNLE Civic Platform 20/20 launched a long-term observation mission for the October 31 parliamentary elections. Our task is to promote a fair, equal and competitive pre-election environment by observing the pre-election period.

NNLE Civic Platform 20/20 used the relevant methodology of electoral principles, assessment of the standard of democracy and related challenges for the report preparation.

The period for research and report preparation was defined as September 1 to October 16, 2020. Initially, preparatory work was carried out, an action plan was developed, the legal framework was analysed and current political developments were assessed. In order to provide efficient response on incidents, monitoring mission representatives were conducting on-site case studies. During the period selected for the survey, our representatives lodged complaints with the election administration of all levels, as well as initiated litigation in the common courts. At the final stage of the research, based on the reconciliation of the received information, the problems were identified and the relevant report was prepared.

Political Context of Pre-Election Period On August 31, 2020, the President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, issued Decree N31 / 08/01 on the appointment of elections and October 31, 2020 was set as the date of the parliamentary elections.

The October 31, 2020 parliamentary elections are accompanied by two special circumstances:

1) The events of June 20, 2019, followed by public protest and amendments in the electoral system. With the active participation of the international community, a new model of the

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020 electoral system has been created, according to which voters will elect 120 members of parliament proportionally and 30 members on a majoritarian basis;

2) Under the conditions of the world pandemic, the Georgian government, the election administration and any entity involved in the elections in general found themselves in a completely new reality. This challenge obliges all entities to plan the election process by considering the factor of pandemic.

In the pre-election period, the political process is taking place in a tense situation, which is reflected in the large number of incidents. The electoral environment is sharply polarized, which was especially facilitated by the political processes that took place before the elections.

The political polarization was further aggravated by the statement made by the Prosecutor's Office on September 29 concerning the study of the activities of the Delimitation-Demarcation Commission of the Georgian-Azerbaijani border. According to the evaluation made by the political parties, the launching of the investigation has a political context and leaves the impression of discrediting opposition parties in the pre-election period. Georgian authorities, by launching the investigation, continued the tradition of extremely negative tendency of Georgian politics and launched a politically motivated investigation during the pre-election period. The purpose of this report is not the assessment of the legal basis of the so-called ‘’case of Cartographers’’. However, there is no doubt that launching an investigation of the case with high public interest a month before the election date strengthens the suspicion of having a political interest.

Prior to the appointment of the election date, the main opposition parties expressed an initiative to oppose the government with the common candidates of majoritarian MP. The agreement was reached mainly in the majoritarian districts of Tbilisi. In the other districts, the opposition was not ready enough, and the parties’ ambitions disrupted the negotiation process for selecting the common majoritarian candidates.

Election Administration

Staffing of district and precinct election commissions

The 2018 report of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights named the process of electing independent members of district and precinct commissions as one of the major challenges for the forthcoming elections.

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020

‘’The selection procedures and criteria for the recruitment of lower-level commission members could be further elaborated in legislation and by the CEC, including more time for selection and in a more open and inclusive process. 1“ The government has not conducted any legislative changes to implement mentioned recommendation, and the actions of the Central Election Administration have raised doubts. In particular, the process of electing a temporary independent member of the District Election Commission caused the feeling that the Central Election Commission has little interest in establishing an impartial administration.

On September 4, 2020, the Central Election Commission of Georgia adopted Resolution N105/2020 concerning the election of temporary members of the District Election Commissions for the October 31, 2020 Parliamentary Elections of Georgia. According to paragraph 5 of Article 19 of the Election Code of Georgia2, the number of permanent members in the district commissions is determined by 5 members, to which 7 temporary members are added during the election period. Out of this, 6 temporary members in the district commissions are staffed by political unions after the elections are called, and one member is elected by the Central Election Commission through a competition.

The election of a single member of the District Election Commission by the Central Election Commission is a kind of safeguard mechanism to ensure parity between professional / impartial members and party-appointed members. The Central Election Commission should select a person based on the principle of professionalism and impartiality. For this purpose, there is an entry in the Election Code that elected / appointed temporary members of the district commission must have a certificate of election officer and must not be a party member3.

The professionalism and degree of impartiality of the candidates should be thoroughly assessed by the Central Election Commission. Candidates should be selected based on this criterion and appointed as temporary members.

Civic Platform 20/20 studied the information on the temporary members (72 members in total) elected on the basis of Decree N105 / 2020 of the Central Election Commission.

1 October 28 and November 28, 2018 Presidential elections in Georgia, final report of OSCE / ODIHR International Election Observation Mission, page 13 https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/a/c/414827.pdf 2 Election Code of Georgia, Article 19, Paragraph 5. https://matsne.gov.ge/ka/document/view/1557168?publication=65 3 Election Code of Georgia, Article 20, Paragraph 11 https://matsne.gov.ge/ka/document/view/1557168?publication=65

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020

The analysis of the information showed that among the selected candidates are persons employed in the public sector. In particular:

- Marekhi Talakhadze, a temporary member elected by the CEC of the N33 Kareli District Election Commission, is a current employee of the City Hall of the same municipality;

- Nino Bakhutashvili, a temporary member elected by the CEC of N 57 Tkibuli District Election Commission, is an employee of the Audit Service of the City Hall of the same municipality;

In addition, cases of nepotism have been reported. In particular,

- Lasha Zaridze, a temporary member elected by the CEC of N7 Chugureti District Election Commission, is the son of Maia Zaridze, Head of the CEC Coordinators Service;

- Ketevan Obolashvili, a temporary member elected by the CEC in N38 Adigeni District Election Commission, is the nephew of Anton Obolashvili, the majoritarian candidate of the Georgian Dream;

- The wife and brother of Mamuka Bukia, a temporary commission member elected by the CEC in N66 Khobi District Election Commission, are employed by the Khobi Municipality Board;

- Kokhta Lashkhia, a temporary member elected by the CEC in N69 Chkhorotsku District Election Commission, is a cousin of Gocha Kalichava, the head of the regional service of the State Security Service of the same municipality.

It should be noted that out of 72 members elected to the district election commissions, 20 are actively expressing their sympathy towards the ruling political party on social media.

It is alarming, that out from 72 constituencies only one candidate participated in the competition in 16 constituencies, and the Central Election Commission had to appoint and not select a candidate. The lack of competition indicates that the CEC failed to inform the population and the candidate selection process proceeded without any real competition.

The Central Election Commission was indifferent when examining the professionalism and impartiality of candidates for temporary membership in district election commissions. The CEC did not even find the public information, required for the evaluation of the candidates, which is available to anyone interested.

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020

The process of electing a precinct election commission by district election commissions revealed certain shortcomings and problems. In particular;

 21 196 applications were registered for 21 942 vacancy positions. Low competition was caused by the weak information campaign of the Central Election Administration. The election administration held a briefing to inform the population and posted an announcement about the competition on its website. The Central Election Administration has not used other means of effective communication, which organizations use to disseminate information about the competition.  Approval of the composition of precinct commissions by district commissions was formal. The criteria for electing a precinct commission’s member were not clear. No interviews were held with the candidates. In 51% of precinct commissions, there was no competition at all, as only 6 candidates were nominated4, and in precincts where competition was relatively high, district commissions could not name the criteria according to which they preferred a particular candidate.  It was suspected that most of the candidates represented a mobilized group and they applied in pre-determined precincts. 25,196 applicants applied for 21,942 vacancies in 3,657 precincts so that only 0.5% of precinct commissions received fewer (6) applications than the minimum number of members. This is in the context where contestants themselves choose the district and precinct commission where they wish to be a member of the commission. In the conditions of low competition, without artificial intervention it is impossible in 99.5% of 3,657 precincts the number of candidates to be minimum 6 persons.

The 67th Zugdidi District Election Commission has elected in total 94 independent members of the Precinct Election Commission, who represented a political union in various precinct commissions in the 2018 presidential elections. The second priority recommendation in the 2018 report of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights was to reduce political influence at all levels of the election administration. In order to implement this recommendation, the Georgian government amended the election law and prohibited the District Election Commission from electing a person as independent member of precinct election commission, who was appointed by political party at any level of election administration during the last general election. The Georgian government implemented the

46 members of the Precinct Election Commission are elected by the relevant district election commission with a majority of full commission. The remaining 6 members of the Precinct Election Commission are appointed by political parties. (Article 24, paragraphs 2 and 4 of the Election Code of Georgia

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020 recommendation only in formal manner, as the term "general elections" was defined in the election legislation as regular and snap elections. By clarifying the meaning of the term "general elections", the legislator left the possibility of maneuvering, which was even used by the government to maintain political influence in Zugdidi precinct election commissions. In particular, the last general elections for Zugdidi was considered the snap election of Zugdidi City Mayor held in 2019 and not the 2018 presidential elections. The 67th Zugdidi District Election Commission disguised the appointment of party members on the positions of independent members in polling stations as the formal compliance with the law.

In our estimation, snap elections, which may be several months ahead of the regular elections, should not become a means of avoiding restrictions. It is impossible for the legislator to predict the periodicity of the snap elections, therefore, the 67th Zugdidi District Election Commission used the law to manipulate.

It is also problematic to consider the snap elections of the mayor as general elections. Under the current institutional arrangements, snap elections of the City Council and the Mayor are qualitatively different from the snap elections of the Parliament and the President of Georgia - they are not general elections in their essence.

By this logic, in theory, the election of these 94 people, for example, by the Poti District Election Commission, would have been a violation of the law, but not in Zugdidi. This is only because the last "general" elections in Zugdidi were considered to be the snap election of Zugdidi Mayir in 2019, and in Poti it was 2018 presidential elections. All this, obviously, is lacking logical judgment.

The process planned by the Central Election Commission, namely the election of precinct election commission members at the district commission level, was poorly organized and unqualified.

The work of the central and district commissions at the district commission level, as a whole, caused the following problems:

 Information about the candidates was not searched for, therefore it is unknown whether the elected members of the commission meet the requirements of the legislation;  There was no clear criteria for the selection of a candidate to ensure the selection of a professional and impartial PEC member;

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020

 The decisions made by the members of the district commission were vague, therefore, it became impossible to identify based on what criteria the winners of the competition were given an advantage;  DEC members could not justify their decisions and, at best, their decisions were based solely on the principle of blind election.

We got a formal process at the district commission level, where, in the most cases, it was not the election of the precinct commission members, but the appointment process. The work of the district commissions was oriented towards the compliance to formal rules.

Voter Registration

According to the current legislation, the voter votes according to the (legal) place of registration. In many cases, the actual residential and legal address of the citizen do not match, which leads to a high rate of economic migration of the population in the capital and large cities.

On June 16, 2020, the Minister of Justice of Georgia issued Order N583. The order specified the rules for registration of citizens according to the place of residence. In particular:

. Registration of a large number of citizens at one address was limited. The minimum living space per citizen was determined as 5 square meters. This restriction does not apply to family members (parents, spouse, children and grandchildren); . Registration of citizens in non-residential areas were banned; . Prior to the issuance of Order N583, the Territorial Service of the National Agency of Public Registry registered a person within 2 days after receiving the application, the registration period was increased to 5 days by the given order.

Order N583 of the Minister of Justice served to implement the recommendation of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. In this regard, the step towards restricting the registration of a large number of voters at one address should be positively assessed. However, the implementation of the recommendation to simplify the possibility of voting according to the actual place of residence still remains a problem. 5

5October 28 and November 28, 2018 Presidential elections in Georgia, final report of OSCE / ODIHR International Election Observation Mission, page 13, page 65 - https://www.osce.org/files/f/documents/a/c/414827.pdf

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020

Pre-election campaign The election campaign for the 2020 parliamentary elections takes place in tense conditions. Cases of interruption and threats to the professional activities of journalists, as well as violence against members of the observer organization are frequent. There are cases of retaliation and pressure on representatives of political parties, looting of political party offices and damaging to property intended for the election campaign. During the research period the facts of mobilization of employees of state-funded organizations at party events and restriction of professional activities on political grounds were observed.

It is important that law enforcement agencies respond to violations in a timely and effective manner. Unfortunately, law enforcement agencies ignore or respond late to some of the incidents. The cases of biased investigations in favor of ruling party activists have also been identified.

Marneuli Incident

On September 29, , the first sessions of the precinct election commissions in Marneuli constituency were held without informing the representatives of the opposition, which was followed by the protest from opposition in front of the district election commission building. Amiran Giorgadze, Chairman of the Marneuli Municipality City Hall was accompanied by the members of the Georgian Dream headquarters when they arrived to the Protestants and verbally and physically assaulted members of the opposition party and their supporters. Lasha Kveladze, a member of the United National Movement election commission, was physically injured. The media representatives were also verbally abused during the incident.

On the evening of September 29, Amiran Giorgadze - Chairman of Marneuli Municipality city hall, Giorgi Shubitidze (PEC Chairman), Lasha Chkhitunidze (City Hall employee) and Shermadin Bochoidze (Sakrebulo lawyer and PEC Secretary), who were accompanies with dozens of other persons, attacked Lasha Kveladze, a member of the United National Movement district commission, and his father, Givi Kveladze in the center of Marneuli. The fact of violence was witnessed by Giorgi Mumladze, long-term observer of Civic Platform 20/20 in Kvemo Kartli. Our observer was calling to the Emergency Medical Brigade to help the victim when Amiran Giorgadze physically assaulted him. In particular, he forced him drop his mobile phone, told him that ‘’He has gone too far’’ and hit him several times in the face. Two

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020 journalists and two cameramen of the Main Channel and the Public Broadcaster were injured. The journalist of the Main Channel - Jeyhun Muhammad Ali was severely beaten and the equipment of the Public Broadcaster was damaged.

It should be noted that the events in Marneuli took place in the presence of law enforcement officers who did not exercise their powers under the law to prevent violence.

In a statement6 issued by the Central Election Commission on September 30, the fact of violence against journalists and observers was ignored. Authorities also didn’t express interested towards the fact of violence against journalists and observers.

Cases of threats against a journalist and restriction of professional activities

On September 16, the activities of the United National Movement / United Opposition were interrupted in the village of Nakhiduri in Bolnisi district. MP of Bolnisi city hall - Vugar Isayev was involved in the incident along with his supporters. Vugar Isayev threatened with health damage and prevented the professional activities of the journalist of the TV channel "Main Channel" Jeyhun Muhammad Ali. On September 17, Civic Platform 20/20 appealed to the Prosecutor General of Georgia to launch an investigation concerinng the journalist's threats and obstruction of his professional activities. The prosecutor's office launched an investigation only on the fact of threats.

The Central Election Administration did not respond to the incident at all.

Other incidents identified during the election campaign

During the pre-election period, as of October 16, 2020, 19 incidents were reported during the election campaign. Information about these incidents is mainly spread by the affected party. Civic Platform 20/20 held meetings on some of the existing incidents and obtained additional information directly from the first source, and prepared relevant emergency reports.

6 CEC statement regarding the incident at Marneuli District Election Commission - https://cesko.ge/geo/list/show/120582-tseskos-gantskhadeba-marneulis-saolqo-saarchevno-komisiastan- momkhdar-intsidenttan-dakavshirebit

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020

01/09/2020 - In Poti Municipality, Merab Simonia, a supporter of the independent candidate for Poti MP, Davit Sarsania, was fired from the Student-Youth Creativity Center of Poti Municipality. The dismissal was based on the ongoing reorganization of the NNLE, but according to Merab Simonia, his dismissal was preceded by a request from the head of the above-mentioned organization, Nanuli Ghurjia - to stop his political activities;

09/09/2020 - In Tbilisi Municipality, Two citizens physically assaulted two activists of the election bloc "Giorgi Vashadze - Strategy Aghmashenebeli" nearby the metro station Varketili, An investigation has been launched over the incident. Later, police arrested offenders of the activists;

10/09/2020 - In the village Khidistavi in Gori Municipality, according to Levan Tarkhnishvili, the majoritarian candidate from the political party ‘’Bakradze, Ugulava, Bokeria – for European Georgia – Movement to Freedom’’ of Gori and Kaspi: local observer from the Georgian Dream - Lela Lukashvili and MP of Gori city hall from Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia - Vaniko Nonikashvili used threatening remarks against representative of European Georgia - Shalva Kvrivishvili; 15/09/2020 - Supporters of Kakha Okriashvili, the leader of the Party ‘’Progress and Freedom’’, were attacked in Dmanisi municipality, near the City Hall. An investigation has been launched over the incident;

27/09/2020 - In Tbilisi Municipality, Nika Melia - a majoritarian MP candidate for Gldani, a bloc of the United National Movement - United Opposition "Power is in Unity", was helding a meeting with the population, during which unidentified persons threw stones and eggs at the participants;

27/09/2020 –An incident took place between activists of the United National Movement / United Opposition and the Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia in the village of Nakhiduri, Bolnisi Municipality. According to the activists of the United National Movement / United Opposition, the brother of Gogi Meshveliani, the majoritarian candidate of the Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia, was involved in the incident. Arif Usupov, a supporter of the United National Movement / United Opposition, was arrested in connection with the incident;

29/09/2020 - In the village of Gldanula in the Gldani district in Tbilisi, activists of the Movement for "Change" and Giorgi Pkhaladze, an observer of the Civic Platform 20/20,

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020 removed the promotional material - flags of the party Georgian Dream, which had been installed in the square, in violation of the Election Code. Giorgi Pkhaladze is being prosecuted for damaging someone's property;

29/09/2020 - In the village of Sadakhlo in Marneuli, an activist of the political party "Bakradze, Ugulava, Bokeria - European Georgia - Movement for Freedom" was wounded in the leg after unidentified persons fired from a pneumatic weapon while he was placing a party banner;

05/10/2020 - The political bloc "Giorgi Vashadze - Strategy Aghmashenebeli" held a rally in front of the Tbilisi City Hall to collect signatures for halving the loan interest. Paata Manjgaladze, the candidate from the party list "Strategy Aghmashenebeli" was detained at the rally. It is noteworthy that the candidate from the party list has immunity until the final results of the elections are announced. Consequently, his arrest by the police can be considered as prevenion of election campaigning.

11/10/2020 –In Tbilisi municipality, Levan Kartvelishvili, a member of the headquarters of Levan Khabeishvili, the majoritarian candidate of the political bloc United National Movement - United Opposition "Power is in Unity", was attacked and physically assaulted by unidentified persons. According to Levan Kartvelishvili, the reason for the physical attack was the T-shirt with printed number 5 of the United National Movement party, which he was wearing.

12/10/2020 - In Kobuleti municipality, at the entrance of the agrarian market, a confrontation took place between the supporters of the party "Lelo" and the market administration. According to the majoritarian candidate, Paata Chivadze, the market administration did not allow their activists to distribute campaign materials and to conduct election campaigns. According to his information, the representatives of the administration verbally insulted two activists of "Lelo" and expelled them from the market area.

The highest number of incidents during the election campaign involved damage to political party property or campaign materials. 8 cases have been reported in this regard in Bolnisi (3 cases), Tbilisi, Tetritskaro, Marneuli, Poti and Kutaisi municipalities.

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020

Use of administrative resources in the election campaign - through the use of human resources employed in the public sector in the election campaign

In the pre-election period of the 2020 parliamentary elections, the participation of employees of state-funded organizations in party events, including during working hours, became widely spread. The mobilization of public school teachers is organized by the representatives of the political party "Georgian Dream" and school directors. Similar cases have been reported in Bolnisi, Tbilisi, Guria and Tskaltubo municipalities.

The education system is a powerful administrative resource for any government. Public, preschool and general education institutions are an important source of human resources. 63,780 teachers are employed in general education institutions7, while 14,309 educators are employed in public pre-school education institutions8.

In accordance with the election legislation, it is prohibited to involve a person who is subordinated employee or otherwise dependent, in activities that promote the introduction and / or election of a candidate9. The Ministry of Education of Georgia should take responsibility for the prevention of such facts and make appropriate decisions.

The task of the ruling party is to gain influence over the human resources employed in the educational institution. The primary target of the ruling party is the directors of public school. In most cases, they help spread and control government party directives over thousands of public school teachers. Teacher position is one of the most prestigious employment opportunities in the regions. Fearing the loss of a prestigious job, teachers against their free will agree to participate in the election campaign.

Rejection to extend the powers of a public school directors for political reasons

Dodo Chotorlishvili was the director of Ksani Public School for 7 years. This year her term was expired and a new contract had to be signed. Dodo Chotorlishvili applied to the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports with a request to extend her term. Another 14

7National Statistics Office of Georgia - Number of teachers in general education institutions- https://www.geostat.ge/ka/modules/categories/59/zogadi-ganatleba 8National Statistics Office of Georgia - on public preschool and educational institutions- https://www.geostat.ge/ka/modules/categories/58/adreuli-da-skolamdeli-aghzrda-da-ganatleba 9 Election Code of Georgia, Article 49, Paragraph 1 https://matsne.gov.ge/ka/document/view/1557168?publication=65

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020 directors applied to the Ministry with a similar request. Appeal for the extension of the term was satisfied to 8 of them and 6 were rejected. Chotorlishvili told to an observer of the Civic Platform 20/20 that her husband and son, as activists of the United National Movement, were involved in the election campaign of opposition majoritarian candidates Tsezar Chocheli and Kakhaber Okriashvili. Because of this, the Ministry did not extend her contract and continued cooperation only with those who were loyal to the Georgian Dream. According to her information, due to the cooperation of his family members with the opposition, she was under pressure for 7 years. It should be noted that Dodo Chotorlishvili became ill due to dismissal from school. She showed signs of heart attack.

This case is similar to the pressure exerted on the director of Zugdidi Public School N6 - Ia Kerzaia during the 2018 presidential elections. Ia Kerzaia's dismissal from the post of director of the public school was preceded by the entry of the representatives of the General Inspection of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia to inspect her school. The inspection coincided with a statement made by Ia Kerzaia about political pressure. It is interesting that the inspection was conducted only in Zugdidi N6 public. Ia Kerzaia died of a stroke on December 9, 2018, after being fired.

Financing of Electoral Subjects Until October 12, 2020, political parties and electoral subjects have received donations of GEL 29,485,838.81, of which GEL 15,041,225.54 (51%) has been donated to the ruling party, Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia. A total of 35 electoral subjects received donations, of which 96.9% came from 10 political parties.

The number of donations made by individuals and legal entities differs significantly from each other. Only 1.7% of donations were made by legal entities, and the remaining 98.3% were made by individuals.

This trend is surprising, as legal entities tend to have more opportunities to make donations in favor of either party. This trend can be explained by only two factors:

1. People who manage the financial resources of legal entities prefer to make donations anonymously because they fear that their businesses will be prosecuted by their controllers if they are funding opposition party. Therefore, representatives of such legal entities make donations in favor of the parties with the help of other citizens and by their names;

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020

2. Representatives of legal entities donating to the ruling party refrain from listing their company in the list of donors, so as not to raise further questions about the benefits received by the state. The mentioned legal entities may obtain benefits via state resources by winning tenders or getting other types of Contracts and make donations in return

The economic activities of individuals donating in favor of political parties in 2020 were analyzed by ‘’Civil Platform 20/20’’. Individuals with Large donations, engaged in economic activities and benefiting from state tenders and contracts, make donations mainly in favor of the political party ‘’Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia10’’

Individuals making donations to political parties were verified. Individuals who have made donations of GEL 25,000 or more in favor of the parties and, at the same time, are not engaged in entrepreneurial-economic activities have been identified within the study.

In 2020, 421 persons have made a donation of GEL 25,000 or more, most of whom (56.5%) are donors to Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia. It is interesting to note that the "Alliance of Georgian Patriots" is on the third place with this indicator, while it is on the fifth place with the total amount of donations. Consequently, we can assume that a significant portion of their funding comes from large donors.

Number of individuals who made Name of the party donation of GEL 25,000 or more

Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia 238 Lelo for Georgia 59 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia 30 United National Movement 23 Strategy Aghmashenebeli 23 European Georgia - Movement for Liberty 21 For Social Justice 6 Democratic Movement – United Georgia 4 Social - Democrats for the Development of Georgia 4 Free Georgia 3 Political Union of Citizens Aleko Elisashvili - Citizens 3

10 See the Survey on Donations to Political Parties prepared by Civic Platform 20/20 https://bit.ly/34rpsXH

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020

Public Movement ‘’Lelo’’ 3 political union of citizens ‘’Georgian Roots’’ 1 Progress and Freedom 1 Reformer 1 Georgian Marsh – National Movement 1

The vast majority of people who do not have entrepreneurial-economic activities are donors of "Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia". Their number is 51 individuals. On the same principle, 23 individuals donating to the "Alliance of Georgian Patriots" were also identified.

Donor Amount Political Party Giorgi Eristavi 60 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia SUlkhan Khvedelidze 60 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Gia Machavariani 60 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Koba Abutidze 60 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Kakhaber Kavlashvili 60 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Badri Chakvetadze 60 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Naira Khabuliani 60 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Paata Tsiskarishvili 60 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Paata Kacharava 60 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Tariel Giorgadze 60 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Valeri Butskhrikidze 60 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Vakhtang Abelishvili 60 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Koba Menabdishvili 60 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Revaz Lobjanidze 55 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Kakhaber kekelidze 55 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Archil Jakeli 55 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Amiran Kakauridze 50 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Gia Grdzelidze 50 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Gocha Khitiri 50 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia ველო Maia Nacvlishvili 50 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Besiki Menabdishvili 50 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Shota Kuprashvili 50 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Nikoloz Natsvlishvili 45 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Nino Kimutsadze 45 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Teona Lomadze 45 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Zaza Kakoishvili 40 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Irakli Bregadze 40 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Guram Jijavadze 40 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020

Davit Turmanidze 40 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Tamaz Khutsishvili 40 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Zviad Meipariani 40 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Kakhaber Dapkviashvili 40 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Emzar Oqrojanashvili 40 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Badri Khvareshia 35 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Ekaterine Bagrationi 35 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Gocha Kurdadze 35 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Zvdia Jakheli 35 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Bakar Devdariani 30 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Badri Alpaidze 30 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Otar Shavadze 30 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Giorgi Jokhadze 30 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Goocha Gabedava 30 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Mukhran Beridze 30 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Natia Kavtiashvili 30 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Kakha Chkonia 30 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Natela Joglidze 30 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Spiridon Moseshvili 30 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Archil Gurgenidze 30 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Tamaz Sakhvadze 25 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Giorgi Tsasidze 25 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Vera Duduchava 25 000 Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia Vladimer Maghlakelidze 60 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Tamta Ghlonti 60 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Giorgi Tsatsanashvili 60 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Malkhaz Topuria 60 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Otar Giorgobiani 60 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Manana Tavkhelidze 60 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Goderdzi Amashukeli 60 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Tamaz Inadze 60 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Archil Benidze 60 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Ioseb Shatberashvili 60 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Davit Teloiani 59 990 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Davit Gvelukashvili 50 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Koba Mazanashvili 50 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Irakli Kobrava 49 990 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Gela Burjanadze 40 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Besiki Begiashvili 35 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Paata Jibladze 35 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Simoni Tatrishvili 32 150 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Giorgi Begiashvili 30 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020

Kakhaber Dzagania 30 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Kakhaber Dzagania 30 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Besiki Gugutsidze 25 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Giorgi Elizbarashvili 25 000 Alliance of Patriots of Georgia

Civic Platform 20/20 calls on the State Audit Office to inquire about the origin of the donations indicated in the report. We suggest that people without entrepreneurial-economic activity, in most cases, make donations instead of other persons, or do the laundering of illegal money that is available in a political party itself.

Registration of the Parties/assignment of numbers According to the latest data of the Central Election Commission, 58 electoral subjects have been registered for the 2020 parliamentary elections - 50 political parties and 2 blocs. Registration of 23 political entities was cancelled / rejecte.

As of September 4, ten electoral subjects had applied to the Central Election Administration for assigning serial numbers. According to the CEC spokesperson, “In order to promote an equal electoral environment for the electoral subjects, the CEC has been conducting the balloting procedure as early as possible within the legal deadline. Therefore, for the current elections, the CEC plans to determine the serial numbers as soon as possible by the law."11 The deadline for assigning serial numbers by lot was the 1st of October.

According to the chairman of the Party ‘’Citizens’’ Aleko Elisashvili, his party applied to the CEC a month earlier for a serial number, but the Central Election Commission did not respond to their request until the deadline. 12

In order to create an equal electoral environment and conduct an effective pre-election campaign for the electoral subjects, it is important to assign serial numbers in a timely manner.

Legal Disputes During the period specified for the Interim Report, the long-term observers of our observer organization addressed to the District Election Commission with 112 complaints, to the Central Election Commission - 3 complaints, to the Municipal Inspection of Tbilisi City Hall – 1 complaint, and to the supervision services of the other municipalities – 2 complaints.

11 https://bit.ly/34lw8GL 12 https://bit.ly/3kljxsE

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020

There is a word by word interpretation of the law and narrowing of its real content by the district and central administration. With such an attitude, the election administration does not respond to violations. In response to the complaint of our observer organization concerning the participation of a member of the Precinct Election Commission in the election agitation, the Marneuli District Election Commission replied by letter 202066/67/68/2020 that the members elected by the district come into power from the first meeting of the commission.

In our estimation, for the purposes defined by Article 45, Paragraph 4, Subparagraph “a” of the Organic Law of Georgia “Election Code of Georgia”, it is inadmissible to use the moment of entering the authority specified in Article 25, Paragraph 14 of the same Code. The beginning of the term of office defined by Article 25, Paragraph 14 of the Organic Law of Georgia “Election Code of Georgia” is related to the authorities he/she has as a member of the commission in the Precinct Election Commission, and part of the limitations are related to the moment of his / her election as a Precinct Election Commission member.

Especially considering that a member of the commission has no obligation to participate in the first meeting of the precinct election commission, the issue of his / her authority is not considered at this time either, as only the heads of the precinct are elected at the first meeting of the commission. According to the District Election Commission, it is possible for an independent member of the Precinct Election Commission to participate in the election campaign a few minutes before the first session of the commission.

The Central Election Commission did not satisfy the complaint either. Tbilisi City and the Court of Appeal also refused to administer justice. In their view, litigation is conducted by the courts when an administrative offense has been identified by an authorized body and a report of the relevant administrative offense has been drawn up. According to the court, the function of justice is exercised in case the protocol of the violation is submitted to the court. The court ruled to exclude the possibility of revising the Central Election Commission’s s decision on similar disputes by the court, as it considered the CEC as the last instance and the right to a fair trial turned into a fiction. Such an approach helps the election administration to dismiss the complaint and block the perspective of legal continuation of the dispute.

Across the country, district election commissions elected 21,942 independent PEC members. Pursuant to Article 24, Paragraph 2 of the Organic Law of Georgia “Election Code of Georgia”, 6 members of the Precinct Election Commission are elected by the relevant district election commission. At the same time, it is inadmissible to elect a person as a member of the Precinct Election Commission who was appointed by a political party as a member of any level election

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020 commission in the last general election. If the district election commissions violate Article 24, Paragraph 2 of the Election Legislation, their decision, according to the fourth paragraph of Article 77 of the Election Code, shall be appealed to the CEC within 1 calendar day. Checking 21 942 human data within 1 calendar day is unthinkable and it is impossible to detect a mistake. Electoral legislation in this direction requires refinement and a reasonable timeframe for appeals.

The above mentioned facts indicate that the authorities did not take into account the 8th priority recommendation of the OSCE / ODIHR International Election Observation Mission. "Election commissions and courts should refrain from an overly formalistic interpretation of the law and give due consideration to the substance of all complaints, respecting the right to an effective remedy. Election commissions and courts should apply the law in a consistent manner to ensure legal certainty. "

Media in the pre-election period In the pre-election period, TV debates between political parties are an integral part of the modern democracy. Television debates increase party awareness in the community, assist voters in making choices, and facilitate the introduction of political subjects' election programs to the electorate.

In fact, Georgia has no experience of political debates on television. In pre- election period only a few broadcasters expressed their willingness to devote their airtime to the debate.

Part of the political parties (mainly the ruling party) were not interested in participating in the debates, which is the sign of a low democratic culture. There are cases when representatives of the ruling party refuse to give interviews to critical media sources or to participate in a program.

There were also cases of biased and nonobjective coverage of information by the media. In particular, the incident that took place in Marneuli on September 29 was covered by the broadcasting company "Rustavi 2" in a biased manner13. In particular, there was a TV spot on Rustavi 2 news program "Courier" at 21:00, which repeated the position of the ruling party regarding the incident in Marneuli. The same fact was manipulatively covered on Imedi TV.

13 https://rustavi2.ge/ka/news/177111

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020

The TV company did not provide complete and objective information about the violence in Marneuli. 14

Recommendations

 The Central Election Administration should ensure the fulfilment of the principle of generality of the elections. The dangers posed by the pandemic should not become an impediment to voting.  The CEC should establish an effective mechanism to protect the rights of voters. The pandemic (COVID 19) cannot be named as a legitimate public purpose of restraint. Since there is a possibility of a pandemic spreading, this does not mean that the Central Election Commission should not be able to ensure the participation of voters in the elections. The restriction may be legitimate when the legislation allows for the use of alternative mechanisms.  It is desirable that election commissions and courts refrain from over-formalizing the law. The election administration should be focused on holding fair and free elections and not taking certain actions within the framework of law and norm. It should not approach complaints in a formal manner.  The state is obliged not to allow influence on the media and journalists, as well as on activists and supporters of political parties, and to investigate such cases in a timely manner. Law enforcement agencies need to respond immediately to incidents, especially when it comes to physical violence against people on political grounds.  The state and the Central Election Commission should provide appropriate working conditions for local and international organizations to monitor and evaluate the 2020 parliamentary elections effectively and efficiently. Any detected incidents against observer organizations should be the basis for immediate response by the state and the election administration.  The ruling party should not use public sector employees as a resource for conducting campaign and should refuse to mobilize supporters through them; Refrain from harassing people employed in budgetary institutions because of their different opinion. In fact, party and state resources should be separated from each other.  Political parties should not use such forms of communication with citizen, which may contain signs of voter’s bribing.

14 https://bit.ly/2Tetqwr

Pre-Election Period Assessment Report of Parliamentary election 2020

 The government should refrain from discrediting political opponents through politically motivated investigative processes during the pre-election period.

Conclusion

In Georgia, the pre-election period of the October 31, 2020 parliamentary elections highlighted issues of concern. In particular, the tense and polarized environment, which was most negatively affected by the investigation launched on so-called "Cartographers' Case". There were signs of biased activity at all levels of the election administration, which was most evident during election disputes and in the process of electing commission members on a professional basis in district / precinct commissions. The election campaign took place in a tense environment, with significant incidents taking place, and with insufficient and inadequate response on many of them by law enforcement bodies. The facts of physical violence against journalists and observers is especially unfortunate.

Suspicious donations were identified for the financing of electoral subjects, which must be investigated by the State Audit Office. Formal approaches have been identified during election disputes, when less attention is paid to the essence of the complaint itself.

In light of the challenges, it is imperative that the authorities and the election administration address the issues identified during the pre-election period, and take into account the recommendations prepared by local and international observer organizations during the pre- election period to ensure an impartial, free and fair election.