Preparations in Advance for Fraud Elections

Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi

“The National Movement (the ruling party) is already preparing for fraud elections and will never refrain from achieving its goal. It will use the rudest and dirtiest methods to fraud the coming elections like previous ones. This time, the representatives of the Kutaisi office of the ruling party intends to involve public schools in the campaign and staffs the board of supervisors with its trustees,” said Nato Katamadze, chairperson of Kutaisi office of the Republic Party.

According to the Article 30 of the Law of Georgia on General Education, which states “to support the close relationship between the local authority and education system, to study the problems in certain public schools and to resolve them operatively”, 50 citizens were employed in the boards of supervisors at Kutaisi public schools. Members of the Republic Party claim that most of those 50 people are activists of the National Movement. They represented the ruling party in the district election commissions during the parliamentary elections on May 21, 2008.

“We applied to Kutaisi Mayor and requested to clarify according to which criteria the new members of boards were selected. We also requested information about the experience of those people in the field of education and their references. The reply was not comprehensive and furthermore it was unserious. The letter from the City Hall indicated to the Article 30 of the Law of Georgia on General Education and clarified that close relationship between the local authority and education system is urgently necessary. It is obvious how the government tries to pretend to be generous to people and instead they are preparing for the fabrication of the elections,” said Nato Katamadze.

The list of people employed at the Kutaisi public schools does not differ from the list of people who were members of the election commissions during the parliamentary elections on May 21, 2008.

For example, Tsiala Kublashvili is member of the board of supervisors at Kutaisi Public School N 11 and she was chairwoman of the election commission at polling station N 107 in Kutaisi during the parliamentary elections; Avtandil Ghvipenadze is board-member at Kutaisi Public School N 22 and during the election he was head of election commission at the polling station N 95; Tinatin Kashmadze, board-member at Public School N 17 and she was chairperson of the election commission at the polling station N 17; Zurab Janelidze, board-member at Public School N 44 and he was head of election commission at the polling station N 92; etc.

The Human Rights Center inquired whether other members of the boards of supervisors knew the trustees of the City Hall and their replies were negative. Nugzar Popkhadze, secretary of the Board of Supervisors at the Public School N 37 stated he had not known Rusudan Supatashvili before. The latter is one of those 50 trustees of the Kutaisi City Hall and mayor.

“Rusudan Supatashvili has not come to school yet. At least, we have not seen her at the meeting of the board,” said Popkhadze.

The same is the situation at Kutaisi Public School N 21. The members of the board do not know the new member of the board.

Representatives of the Kutaisi City Hall state the members of the boards were selected based on their personal applications; and they were employed based on the Resolution N 97 of the Mayor issued on June 22, 2009.

“I wonder how 50 people submitted their applications to the City Hall and how all of them were employed. Besides that it is strange when and where the competition was announced. The resolution of the City Hall, which lists the reasons for employing new people in the boards of supervisors, does not contain one real reason – fabrication of the upcoming elections at the polling stations which will be opened in the public schools,” said Katamadze.

Chairperson of the Kutaisi office of the Republic Party states they still monitor the situation in the city. She claims soon the Republic Party will unclose many more interesting details about the preparation activities.