Opposition parties talk about pressure from law enforcement agencies

2021/09/44445-1631090058.jpg
Read: 2876     14:00     08 Сентябрь 2021    

Opposition parties, including "For Georgia", "European Georgia" and "Girchi – More Freedom", talk about pressure on their candidates from law enforcement agencies in order to withdraw their candidacies from the electoral registration.
As stated on September 4, Natia Mezvrishvili, candidate for majority deputies in Gldani (Tbilisi) Dozens of candidates from the party" For Georgia", which was founded by former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, have already been knocked out of the election campaign due to "dismissal from work", "pressure on business" and fears of "publishing information reflecting personal life". According to her, former candidates are forced to spread "lies" about withdrawing their candidacy through pro-government media.
Mezvrishvili noted that candidates and party employees in the municipalities of Akhalkalaki, Ninotsminda, Adigeni, Ozurgeti, Lagodekhi and Telavi were under pressure. She also added that cases of pressure are "systemic" in other regions of the country.
These examples included the case of Mahman Mammadov, a majority candidate from the village of Kabali, who "withdrew his candidacy under pressure from law enforcement officers," as well as the case of Hovhannes Hovsepyan, a candidate from the village of Kheshkia in the Ninotsminda municipality of Ninotsminda, when his wife was threatened with deprivation of working hours at the public school where she works.
On September 4, the leader of the Girchi — More Freedom party, Zurab Japaridze, also expressed concern and called the pressure on the candidates and supporters of his party unprecedented.
According to Dzhaparidze, the law enforcement agencies contact each registered candidate with a demand to withdraw from the election and warn that " otherwise they will have problems." As a result, according to him, five of them withdrew their candidacies.
According to the leader of "Girchi", it is necessary to nominate a minimum number of candidates in proportional lists, otherwise the latter will be canceled and"therefore, the opposition votes will be lost".
In addition, as the representative of the European Georgia party Gigi Tsereteli said yesterday, Rusudan Kovziridze, the majority candidate from this party from the village of Gvankiti in the Terdzhol municipality, who works in a local youth center, is also under political pressure from the government.
Similar concerns were expressed last week by the Office of the People's Defender and the NGO International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), who spoke about possible dismissals due to discrimination based on political affiliation.
On September 6, Georgian Dream MP Giorgi Khelashvili called Natia Mezvrishvili's allegations "disinformation", stating that"as soon as the party of former Prime Minister Gakhariya felt an inevitable and complete defeat in the upcoming local elections, its members, unfortunately, decided to follow a well-trodden path of lies and deception in order to discredit the electoral process."

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Opposition parties talk about pressure from law enforcement agencies

2021/09/44445-1631090058.jpg
Read: 2877     14:00     08 Сентябрь 2021    

Opposition parties, including "For Georgia", "European Georgia" and "Girchi – More Freedom", talk about pressure on their candidates from law enforcement agencies in order to withdraw their candidacies from the electoral registration.
As stated on September 4, Natia Mezvrishvili, candidate for majority deputies in Gldani (Tbilisi) Dozens of candidates from the party" For Georgia", which was founded by former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, have already been knocked out of the election campaign due to "dismissal from work", "pressure on business" and fears of "publishing information reflecting personal life". According to her, former candidates are forced to spread "lies" about withdrawing their candidacy through pro-government media.
Mezvrishvili noted that candidates and party employees in the municipalities of Akhalkalaki, Ninotsminda, Adigeni, Ozurgeti, Lagodekhi and Telavi were under pressure. She also added that cases of pressure are "systemic" in other regions of the country.
These examples included the case of Mahman Mammadov, a majority candidate from the village of Kabali, who "withdrew his candidacy under pressure from law enforcement officers," as well as the case of Hovhannes Hovsepyan, a candidate from the village of Kheshkia in the Ninotsminda municipality of Ninotsminda, when his wife was threatened with deprivation of working hours at the public school where she works.
On September 4, the leader of the Girchi — More Freedom party, Zurab Japaridze, also expressed concern and called the pressure on the candidates and supporters of his party unprecedented.
According to Dzhaparidze, the law enforcement agencies contact each registered candidate with a demand to withdraw from the election and warn that " otherwise they will have problems." As a result, according to him, five of them withdrew their candidacies.
According to the leader of "Girchi", it is necessary to nominate a minimum number of candidates in proportional lists, otherwise the latter will be canceled and"therefore, the opposition votes will be lost".
In addition, as the representative of the European Georgia party Gigi Tsereteli said yesterday, Rusudan Kovziridze, the majority candidate from this party from the village of Gvankiti in the Terdzhol municipality, who works in a local youth center, is also under political pressure from the government.
Similar concerns were expressed last week by the Office of the People's Defender and the NGO International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), who spoke about possible dismissals due to discrimination based on political affiliation.
On September 6, Georgian Dream MP Giorgi Khelashvili called Natia Mezvrishvili's allegations "disinformation", stating that"as soon as the party of former Prime Minister Gakhariya felt an inevitable and complete defeat in the upcoming local elections, its members, unfortunately, decided to follow a well-trodden path of lies and deception in order to discredit the electoral process."

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