Criteria for Gori Residents to Elect President

Mariam Lezhava, Shida Kartli

According to the Central Election Commission, 23 candidates were registered for 2013 Presidential Elections. The Election Day is approaching and Gori population is preparing to elect preferable candidate. Humanrights.ge interviewed voters in Gori and tried to find out what criteria work for them to elect the presidential candidate.

Giorgi Makharoblidze: “I have already decided whom to vote for. I learned his election program too; of course I support him based on his program.”

Izolda Zakarashvil: “I have not learned election programs. Every candidate promises us to raise pensions, allowances. I am not going to vote for anyone. I have neither pension nor allowance. Nobody has ever assisted me but God.”

Tamar Zurashvili: “I do not know every candidate; have heard only about a few of them. I do not have a TV-set at home and know about them only from people. I personally intend to vote for Davit Bakradze because I like his speeches.”

Nino Berikashvili: “I am still thinking about it. But more likely I will vote for Giorgi Margvelashvili. Georgian Dream cares about people and I trust them. I do not know his election program – just what I hear from TV. I do not have negative feelings about other candidates too but despite that I will prefer to vote for the Georgian Dream’s presidential candidate.”

Beka Mikhanashvili: “I will vote for the candidate I will like best. I do not know where to read their election programs.’

Natia Meladze: “I am waiting for something special to decide whom to vote for. For example, last year we saw video-footage from prison. I am not going to read their election programs.”

Interviews with population showed that Gori registered voters do not know election programs of the presidential candidates and elect them only based on their superficial observations. 

It is noteworthy that last year, number of visitors on the websites, where election programs of the political parties were placed before parliamentary elections of 2012, doubled after the Election Day. That means, supposedly population first elects an election subject and then reads their programs.