The Public Defender of Georgia, within the framework of his authority, has been monitoring the election process since morning and wants to respond to the cases of physical confrontations and violent incidents that have taken place as of now, including towards observers and media representatives (17:30).

In particular,

Violent incidents:

• Several episodes of loud physical confrontations in Tbilisi, Gldani district, 60^th polling station;
• Commotion and controversy at the 51^st polling station in Isani;
• Tension in Tbilisi, near the 30^th polling station in Isani;
• Physical assault on the representative of one of the parties in Isani, Tbilisi, near the 9th polling station;
• Verbal confrontation and an attempt at physical violence in Gori, at the 84^th polling station;
• Physical confrontation near the 14^th polling station in Gori;
• Several physical confrontations in the 9^th polling station in Zugdidi;
• According to the reports, an observer was physically injured during one of the incidents that happened near the 60^th polling station in Gldani, Tbilisi;
• Observers were verbally abused and their phones were taken away at the 11^th polling station in Matni, Akhmeta;
• According to GYLA, their employee/observer, Giorgi Gotsiridze, was physically assaulted by a member of the commission and an unknown person outside the 4^th polling station of Marneuli.

Alleged illegal actions against media representatives:

• CNEWS journalist was physically assaulted near the 2^nd polling station in Kutaisi;
• In the village of Kvemo Khodasheni, Telavi municipality, near the 16^th polling station, a TV Pirveli cameraman received physical injuries and the TV company’s equipment was damaged;
• They was an attempt to take away the equipment of Mtavari TV company in Kakheti.

According to the reports, in some cases procedural violations were the preconditions for the incidents, tensions and confrontations that occurred at the polling stations and in the vicinity of the buildings, however, in most cases, the incidents were caused by the mobilization of various groups in the vicinity of the polling stations.

The Public Defender emphatically notes that such violence and interference with activities of journalists and observers is a criminal act.

It is also important for everyone to comply with the requirement of the law prohibiting physical obstruction of voter movement in the voting building or within 100 meters of the voting building on the election day and relating to the gathering of people/collecting information about the arrival of voters within 100 meters of the voting building; In addition, the Public Defender calls on everyone to follow the above-mentioned legal requirements and not to support or incite violence or confrontations, even by keeping the appropriate distance.

In addition, the Public Defender explains once again that the role of the media is vital especially for informing the public regarding the election processes, however it is also important for the media not to interfere with the work of the election commissions.

The Public Defender calls on law enforcement agencies to study and evaluate all alleged criminal/illegal incidents and to respond to them promptly, effectively and in accordance with the law; to present information about the developments to the public in a timely manner.

The Public Defender appeals to the leaders of all political parties and their supporters to refrain from inciting and initiating any kind of violence and to facilitate the conduct of processes in a peaceful and healthy environment.