Dear friends/colleagues, I am happy to announce that my paper “#EU’s Role in #SouthCaucasus Viewed from #Russia” has been published (pp. 35-51). The paper was presented during the 27th Workshop of the PfP Consortium Study Group “Regional Stability in the South Caucasus” titled… pic.twitter.com/4TGe9ctukx
— Yeghia Tashjian /يغيا/ Եղիա Թաշճեան 🇱🇧🇦🇲 (@yeghig) November 4, 2024
Day: November 4, 2024
At a briefing on November 4, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili railed against what he called “disinformation” about alleged electoral fraud. However, the briefing attracted more attention not so much for its content, but for showing a map of Georgia without the occupied territories of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali.
Although elections cannot be held in Georgia’s occupied territories, their omission from the official map during the briefing of a state official caused public anger. Parliamentary Majority Leader Mamuka Mdinaradze was quick to dismiss the claims, saying that the occupied territories were shown in a pale colors, which he said the cameras had failed to detect.
“The people without a homeland began to post one after another, trying to overshadow what Shalva Papuashvili had done to them with this briefing,” Mdinaradze wrote, adding that the journalists who attended the briefing were provided with the presentation, where they could see that the occupied territories were not omitted from the official map, but were shown in almost white, very pale colors.
Briefing – Speaker Rejects Election-Related “Disinformation”
As for the content of the briefing, Speaker Papuashvili lashed out at the claims of local CSOs, the opposition and the President regarding the alleged electoral fraud. These allegations, which he rejected, include violations of vote secrecy rules, the Georgian Dream’s voter mobilization efforts, and suspicions of unusually high turnout in certain regions, among others.
First, he dismissed the concerns of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, one of the main election observers, which filed complaints to annul the results of all polling stations where voting was conducted using new technologies, based on the fact that the ballots were so thin that they revealed, which party the citizen had voted for, thus alleging a systemic violation of the secrecy of the vote.
Papuashvili cited elections in Poland, Bulgaria, Lithuania, and Moldova, all of which he claimed did not have ballots wrapped in special paper to conceal citizens’ choices and had semi-transparent ballot boxes. He said the GYLA is using this issue as a pretext “to take the elections away from the Georgian people.” He further claimed that local observer organizations have “political aims” and lashed out at their donors. “I have said many times that this is no longer the problem of a particular NGO, this is already the problem of donors who allow these fraudulent conclusions to be drawn by such organizations that are trying to deprive the Georgian people of the election through direct disinformation,” he said.
Second, Papuashvili addressed the opposition’s accusations that the ruling party was mobilizing its voters by illegal means, collecting their personal data, and using it as leverage to coerce their free will. While Papuashvili did not address the alleged illegal use of citizens’ personal data, he said that parties should have close contact with their supporters to ensure that they go to the polls. He discussed the NDI and IRI guidelines on how parties should communicate with their voters, claiming that the GD had not violated any rules and had conducted a genuine campaign to mobilize its supporters.
Third, Speaker addressed concerns about the unusually high voter turnout in regions where the GD won by large margins. In this context, he praised the GD’s pre-election campaign, spoke at length about the “delegates” it had appointed for each region, and accused the opposition of failing to communicate with people in the regions.
“In reality, the complex scheme they talked about is very simple. The scheme is called democracy and the support of the people. If the people do not support you, if you do not go to the people, [then] of course you have no chance to get good results; and secondly, about these elections, nobody should lie to themselves and should not calm down, especially in the opposition; in these elections, their catastrophic loss means one thing, that the Georgian people showed the traitors and people without a homeland the place they deserve and they should be there by the verdict of the Georgian people,” the Speaker concluded.
Also Read:
My Vote, a local observer mission uniting dozens of Georgian civil society organizations, calls on the Prosecutor’s Office to conduct an investigation into actors in the Central Election Commission’s election administration who, she said, were involved in a large-scale rigging scheme.
During the briefing on November 4, Londa Toloraia, the representative of the observer mission, stated that Giorgi Kalandarishvili, the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Georgia, and his deputy Giorgi Sharabidze, as well as the Secretary of the CEC, Giorgi Javakhishvili, played a key role in the forging process of the Georgian elections. My Vote asserts that they have violated Article 342 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which pertains to the neglect of official duties.
On Saturday, October 26th, Georgians went to the polls, with the Georgian Dream party emerging as the apparent victor over the pro-European opposition, according to the official CEC results. However, the local and international observers say that the electoral process was marred by substantial electoral fraud. My Vote declares that the Central Election Commission of Georgia did not ensure the secrecy of the ballot, since ballot paper made it possible to identify voter’s decision. “The above-mentioned action of the CEC on the election day allowed ruling party to control the will of the voters on a large scale.” The alleged rigging scheme included confiscating voters’ ID cards before the election, artificial obstacles for independent election observers, as well as instances of fraudulent voting and multiple votes cast by individuals working with Georgian Dream observers and party-affiliated election officials.
According to Toloraia, “the change in the appointment procedures for individuals working with the verification devices of the CEC, along with the determination of their identities one week in advance, has simplified and enabled the ruling party to exert influence over the individuals performing this function, thereby subordinating them to the interests of the ruling party.”
My Vote highlighted incidents with polling stations abroad, particularly in areas with a high number of Georgian migrants. The voting process faced significant challenges due to inadequate infrastructure and a very limited number of registrars, which jeopardized the entire election process. “This decision played into the hands of the ruling party,” Toloraia said.
Toloraia also stressed that CEC had issued accreditation to Russian propagandist figure Alexander Malkevich, a violator of Georgian law “On Occupied Territories”, who is also in a wanted list by the US special services.
According to My Vote, “CEC was one of several state agencies involved in this scheme of large-scale electoral fraud.” The observation mission said it continues its work and will gradually provide the public with information.
Also Read:
- 28/10/2024- Official Preliminary Results: Georgian Dream Leads with 52.99%
- 27/10/2024- My Vote Speaks of ‘Large Scale’ Rigging Scheme as Preliminary Results Give Lead to GD
- 31/10/2024-Reports Locate Founder of Russian Propaganda Network in Tbilisi on Election Day
Abkhazia risks land losses to Russia
The Russian-Abkhazian investment agreement signed last week has caused widespread public outcry in Abkhazia. Not only the opposition but also local entrepreneurs, who usually prefer not to get involved in politics, claim that this agreement—which grants unprecedented benefits to large Russian businesses—is extremely unfavorable for Abkhazia.
For instance, Alkhaz Argun, CEO of Aquafon, Abkhazia’s largest company and mobile operator, slammed the agreement and the way it was signed as nothing short of a scam.
Earlier, Abkhazia’s Minister of Economy, Kristina Ozgan, signed the agreement without awaiting formal parliamentary approval.
Argun warned that the agreement poses numerous risks for local businesses and the republic as a whole, and, if ratified, could lead to devastating consequences.
The businessman expressed skepticism over Abkhazia’s ability to gain any significant profit from the investment projects, which could instead result in severe losses.
“If the investor faces issues, for instance, with repaying the loan, the Russian bank will receive Abkhaz land and everything on it as payment. I wouldn’t rule out that this might be done intentionally, specifically with this aim in mind.
The investor will obtain a large loan, the bank will claim the land and all structures on it as payment, a Russian court will make a ruling, and it will be up to the Abkhaz side to enforce it and bear the financial burden…
In this scheme, I see only one party that suffers—Abkhazia,” Alkhas Argun concluded grimly.
- Three threats posed by the agreement on Russian investments in Abkhazia. Opinion
- Op-ed: Agreement on Russian investments in Abkhazia’s economy is exploitative and humiliating
Argun also emphasized that Abkhazia does not need just any money or investment; it needs responsible investors. He cited his own company, Aquafon, as an example of “healthy and proper investments in the republic’s economy,” noting that since 2008, the controlling stake in Aquafon has been held by the Russian operator MegaFon.
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Abkhazia risks land losses to Russia
Political analyst Suren Surenyan believes that post-election turmoil in the #US could create a security vacuum in the #SouthCaucasus, which #Azerbaijan might exploit.
“Internal U.S. issues may diminish attention to the region, regardless of who wins the presidency.” pic.twitter.com/cgCHxQKFiE
— Armenia Sputnik (@ArmeniaSputnik) November 4, 2024