The right to vote is a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution of Georgia and the Public Defender of Georgia supervises the realization of this very right, as well as all other rights in the context of elections in the pre-election period, within the scope of the powers granted by law.

Due to special public interest and for the purpose of informing the public, based on the Organic Law of Georgia on the Public Defender, we are presenting the problematic issues identified by the Public Defender as of October 7, 2024.

• Cases containing elements of alleged crime

In the current pre-election period (since August), the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia has identified 15 cases containing elements of alleged crime, which were related to the elections: 4 out of the 15 cases were related to the alleged physical abuse by Georgian Dream supporters against members and supporters of the opposition party;[1] in one case, reports were spread about the confrontation with an opposition party;[2] two cases were related to the alleged physical abuse of members of the opposition party by police officers;[3] one case was related to pressure on prisoners in the penitentiary system in order to attract votes for Georgian Dream (threats of abolition of social assistance, physical retaliation, disciplinary punishment);[4] two cases were related to the threats made by Georgian Dream supporters;[5] five cases concerned alleged damage to private property, one of which was done to the property of the head of a local election headquarters of Georgian Dream.[6]

The Public Defender’s Office has already received information from the law enforcement authorities relating to some of the above-mentioned cases and, within the scope of his authority, continues to supervise the investigations launched.

• Monitoring organizations

In the pre-election period, the subject of the Public Defender's special attention and study was the decision made by the Anti-Corruption Bureau to consider the monitoring organization - Transparency International - and its head as subjects with political goals, due to which, the organization's monitoring activities were restricted. Importantly, on October 2, the Anti-Corruption Bureau revoked this decision and Transparency International continues its monitoring mission. In this particular case, the Office was studying the alleged restrictions on the work of human rights defenders, freedom of association and expression, and the right to fair administrative proceedings.

• Cases of alleged discrimination with political motives

In contrast to the previous election periods, the Office has not received any applications relating to alleged discriminatory dismissal or harassment due to political opinions. However, on his own initiative, the Public Defender applied to the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia and obtained information in order to study the decisions made against the principals of Khoni and Senaki schools and the deputy principal of the public school of the Tkibuli municipality. At the stage of examining the cases, the Public Defender’s Office has learnt that in all three cases the interested persons have applied to the court, which makes the Office unauthorized to continue the examination. In addition, the Public Defender, on his own initiative, applied to the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University for an explanation regarding an allegedly politically motivated decision made relating to the labour relations with one of the lecturers. Similarly, we requested information from the Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University regarding the non-renewal of labour relations with one of the visiting lecturers, which the latter relates to his political activity.[7] The Public Defender is also monitoring the developments surrounding the issue of authorization to Ilia State University and will make a decision regarding the launch of the study of the case after obtaining additional information.

In addition to the above-mentioned cases, the Public Defender also applied to the Mayor of Tetritskaro municipality. According to the reports, the Tetritskaro City Hall refused the Youth Center Tetritskaro to extend the term of the free usufruct contract. As it became known, the Youth Center had not registered in the relevant register, and the director of the center had openly expressed his position regarding the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence.

We emphasize once again that the Office has not received applications of interested persons relating to alleged discrimination with political motives. Apart from information received from the respondents, in order to evaluate or identify discriminatory motives, it is necessary for the alleged victims of discrimination to present evidence. Thus, the Office is ready to receive additional information and evidence from the interested parties.

• Pressure to participate in various events

The Office became aware of the alleged threat from the lecturer of the Samtskhe-Javakheti State University against the students who would not attend the pre-election event of the Georgian Dream party. The lecturer categorically denies the above and the university expresses its readiness to launch disciplinary proceedings even if anonymous applications are filed by students, which has not occurred at the stage of communication with the Office. In addition, the media spread information about other cases of alleged pressure in educational institutions, although no specific schools were identified. The Public Defender emphasizes that it is inadmissible to force people to participate in certain events and urges citizens to contact the Public Defender’s Office in case of similar facts.

• Cases of alleged interference in the election campaign

In the pre-election period, there have been cases of verbal confrontations during meetings with voters, in particular: on August 3, 2024, in Batumi, during a meeting with the voters of the For Georgia party, and on September 13, 2024, in Kutaisi, at the pre-election meeting of the Georgian Dream party in the so-called "vehicle factory settlement". In addition, information was spread about the tearing down/damaging of election posters of the Georgian Dream party.[8]

The above-mentioned cases create a hostile environment, prevent the free conduct of the election campaign and agitation. Therefore, on the one hand, it is important for any entity to refrain from similar actions, and on the other hand, in cases of occurrence of such incidents, the authorized bodies should respond as provided by law.

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[1] < https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=7904774546242879 > < https://shorturl.at/9sz1k > < https://shorturl.at/nSt6> https://formulanews.ge/News/118055

[2] <https://www.facebook.com/TvMtavari/videos/831639135616961/ >

[3]< https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dIFho0eOW8 > < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgquwpNcWXI >

[4] < https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQoHjGhgBtc >

[5] < https://www.facebook.com/TvMtavari/videos/1569480963924774/?rdid=bpw3Da98Z3AjCPCJ > < https://www.facebook.com/annatsitlidzee/videos/506745085474107/ >

[6] <https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=810537031236238 > <https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1084785770313745&set=pcb.1084790600313262 > <https://shorturl.at/1yFd5 > < https://www.interpressnews.ge/ka/article/812310-kartuli-ocnebis-inpormaciit-chxorocqushi-koalicia-cvlilebistvis-cevrma-kartuli-ocnebis-adgilobrivi-saarchevno-shtabis-xelmzgvanels-avtomankana-kvebit-daumtvria/ > < https://formulanews.ge/News/116667 >

[7] https://www.facebook.com/100001611597991/posts/8775285092535123/?rdid=IIIhGak7ZTwS4BNb

[8] https://rustavi2.ge/ka/news/291096

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