Georgian Dream Requests Re-Counting of Votes in Every PS in Martvili District

Inga Gvasalia, Samegrelo

Georgian Dream states that results of the parliamentary elections in Martvili district must be recounted and results in some polling stations must be annulled. Activists claim Coalition and their majoritarian candidate Murtaz Khurtsilava lost elections in the district because of faked results.

At the session of the District Election Commission, Coalition representatives requested to review results from every polling station but commission members did not satisfy their request.

One of their complaints was about PS # 19. According to the commission members’ decision, results from the PS # 19 were opened and re-counted. Some violations were observed as a result of re-counting. At the same time, number of ballot papers was more than registered – 607 ballot papers were found in the box instead registered 602. On that ground the election results from the PS were annulled. After this incident, Georgian Dream’s member Giorgi Kurua was more persistent in his demands.

“We demand to recount every PS. Open every election journal and we will find the truth! Elections were faked in Martvili; the fact that 805 votes were annulled from the proportional list convinces me in it. Several complaints were written in polling stations during the polls but nobody responded to them. You see situation is getting worse every day. What are you afraid of?! Open results and let us put an end to this controversy. The court will make you to open them but why we should need courts; it would be better if we open and recount them,” Giorgi Kurua suggested commission members.

Commission chairman Grigol Bartia did not find Kurua’s examples as arguments and requested him to leave the session for having breached regulation rules. “It is not argument; it is your wish. Unless you keep silence, I will expel you from the session. There is no ground to re-count PS results because nobody has filed complaints from them.”

Representative of the political party Zviad Gamsakhurdia – Free Way Irakli Jamburia claimed the opposite. “I personally witnessed in several polling stations, in Chkoni too, that secretary did not register the complaint. Why are not you opening the results? It causes our grounded doubt. Let us open and estimate the truth and reality.”

Wife of the chairman of municipal board and sister-in-law of Zaza Gorozia, minister of agriculture, Olga Shurkanova was particularly active during the session; she was CEC representative in the District Election Commission. Shurkanoa aggressively responded to Georgian Dream’s representatives instead DEC chairman.

After the results from PS #19 were annulled, Georgian Dream’s members became more eager to recount every polling station. However, DEC did not satisfy Coalition’s request. So, the Georgian Dream intends to continue struggle in the court.