International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy Pre-Election Monitoring of October 8, 2016 Parliamentary Elections Fourth Interim Report September 2 – October 1 Publishing this report is made possible by the generous support of the American people, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The views expressed in this report belong solely to ISFED and may not necessarily reflect the views of the USAID, the United States Government and the NED. I. Introduction The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy has been monitoring October 8, 2016 elections of the Parliament of Georgia and Adjara Supreme Council since July 1, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The fourth interim report of the pre-election monitoring covers the period from September 2 to October 1, 2016, as well as developments that began to unfold before September 1 and continued during the monitoring period. II. Key Findings During the reporting period campaigning moved into a particularly active phase. ISFED observers monitored 643 meetings held by political subjects from September 1 to October 1. Alongside the active pre-election campaign, election violation incidents grew considerably, jeopardizing free and fair pre-election environment. During the reporting period ISFED detected 3 cases of alleged political dismissals; 11 cases of intimidation/harassment; 12 cases of misuse of administrative resources; 8 cases of interference with campaigning; 6 cases of physical violence; 4 cases of possible vote buying; 2 cases of vandalizing party offices; 37 cases of destroying campaign materials; 4 cases of using hate speech; 8 cases of campaigning by unauthorized individuals. Alarming incidents of violence between political opponents and activists have been identified during the period leading up to the elections. Activists and supporters of opposition parties as well as the ruling party suffered injuries as a result of use of force and cold weapons. People have been hospitalized following these incidents. Subsequent investigations have been launched. As the election date approaches, acts of harassment/intimidation against opposition members and activists on alleged political grounds are growing considerably. Mostly representatives of opposition electoral subjects are targeted by various forms of harassment and intimidation. During the reporting period representatives of opposition parties reported verbal threats, threatening by removal of social benefits, and other forms of intimidation to ISFED observers. ISFED detected instances of possible intimidation in relation to the process of election of precinct electoral commission (PEC) leaders. In PECs where members appointed by opposition parties were elected on key positions (PEC Chair, PEC Secretary), PEC members that participated in voting later resigned. PEC protocol was doctored in one case to replace the name of elected PEC Secretary with the name of another PEC member. Interference with campaign events of competitors occurred often. Meetings of parties were mostly attended by local self-government employees with opposing political views, trying to interfere with campaigning using different methods. Notably, on September 14, the Inter-Agency Commission adopted a recommendation to political parties and electoral subjects1, urging them to take all possible measures to ensure that their activists and supporters refrain from attending pre-election meetings of rival political parties or their supporters, as well as from staging a counter-rally against these meetings, in order to eliminate all risks of verbal or physical confrontation on political grounds. In addition, upon the initiative of the Minister of Justice, 11 political parties have joined a campaign against violence during pre-election period and have condemned violence in a special video entitled “Violence Harms Elections” 2. Despite these initiatives, acts of physical violence and interference with campaigning targeting political opponents have grown. 1 Recommendations of the Inter-Agency Commission for Free and Fair Elections available at: http://www.justice.gov.ge/Ministry/Index/487 2 The video titled Violence Harms Elections, September 17, 2016, available at: https://www.facebook.com/MinistryofJusticeofGeorgia/videos/1054089911306256/ Incidents that involved damaging of campaign materials – party flags, posters and banners – have grown considerably and mostly include tearing down of posters, and placing posters of an electoral subject over posters of another electoral subject. With only a few exceptions, it was impossible to identify the perpetrators. These incidents affected campaign materials of virtually every political party. The Inter- Agency Commission for Free and Fair Elections adopted a subsequent recommendation3 urging political parties/electoral subjects to “issue clear instructions that their activists and representatives are categorically prohibited from removing, tearing down, covering, damaging or illegally interfering with placement of campaign materials of a competitor (electoral subject).” The reporting period was marked by a growing trend of abuse of administrative resources, mostly by local self-governments, in favor of the ruling party. ISFED detected production and free of charge distribution of print materials for campaigning, use of buildings, campaigning during events funded from the State budget by event organizers, which is prohibited under the Election Code. Some municipalities have been using text-messaging service to keep individual citizens informed about status of certain projects. These initiatives of local municipalities may amount to a form of influencing will of voters and contain signs of misuse of administrative resources. During the reporting period, the pre-election campaign by the electoral subject Davit Tarkhan Mouravi, Irma Inashvili – Alliance of Patriots of Georgia was marked by clear xenophobic calls. Some majoritarian candidates and active members of the party were using hate speech during campaigning. The party produced and released a pre-election advertisement where it made anti-Turkish remarks and urged voters to assemble for expressing their anti-Turkish stance. The CEC is currently examining use of hate speech in the campaign video. Illegal wiretapping of politically active individuals continued during the pre-election period. An audio recording of a conversation that allegedly took place between Mikheil Saakashvili, former president of Georgia, and some UNM members was leaked on the Internet. The video recording suggests that these individuals are debating a revolutionary scenario for the electoral processes. Leaking of the recording was preceded by statements made by representatives of the ruling political party, alleging that the UNM was planning to cause a destabilization and unrest for the elections. The investigative authorities should launch an effective and impartial investigation for determining authenticity of the video recordings and whether the alleged criminal intentions are real, as well as for combating the crime of illegal wiretapping. 3 Recommendation of the Inter-Agency Commission for Free and Fair Elections, dated September 22, 2016, available at: http://www.justice.gov.ge/News/Detail?newsId=5279 III. Recommendations Electoral subjects/political parties should: act responsibly and refrain from confrontation and violence, as well as from making any statements that may incite violence and confrontation; abide by ethical norms while on air on TV or in public space, refrain from manifesting any aggression and engage in debates in a constructive manner; stop mobilizing their supporters for public meetings of rival parties/electoral subjects and prevent their supporters from attending these meetings; while on air on TV, during their public speeches an campaign meetings refrain from forms of expression directed against a certain individual or a group of individuals, on the account of their social background, ethnicity, race, gender, age, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, language, ideology, social class, work, etc.; during pre-election process refrain from forms of campaigning that contain signs of vote buying and serve to have a negative impact on their free will; stop providing, promising or enticing voters with money, gifts, services through their representatives or legal entities associated with them. Local self-governments should: refrain from amending their budgets before the end of elections, for launching new social and infrastructural projects; prevent campaigning during events funded from the State budget, in favor or against an electoral subject; prevent dismissals of local government employees on political grounds; instruct local self-government employees about their rights and responsibilities during pre- election period; not abuse property of local self-government, including means of communication and transportation, in favor of an electoral party or for participation in a campaign. To ensure fulfillment of campaigning rules: clergymen, aliens, members of the electoral administration and other individuals that are prohibited from participating in a pre-election campaign, should refrain from participating in the pre-election campaign. IV. Instances of Dismissals on Alleged Political Grounds Telavi On September 5, local media reported that Telavi