The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs has responded to the PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe) report on the parliamentary elections, addressing an incident that occurred at a polling station in Bodbe, located in the Sighnaghi district. According to the PACE observation team, the situation unfolded when a group of around 40 individuals allegedly vandalized the team’s vehicle outside the polling station. The report details that the group deliberately punctured a tire and attempted to make it appear like an accident by deliberately crashing an old vehicle into the already damaged car.
In its report, PACE said that “an unacceptable incident occurred during a PACE team’s observation at a polling station in the village of Bodbe, Sighnaghi district. The team’s car was deliberately vandalised by a group of approximately 40 unfriendly strongmen outside the polling station.
The MIA said that administrative proceedings have been initiated to identify the individuals involved in the incident. In its statement, the Ministry emphasized that the driver of the vehicle had reported the incident to the Public Safety Command Center at 112. As noted, a police unit was promptly dispatched to the scene, where they conducted an inspection of the surrounding area and prepared the necessary documentation for the case.
According to the MIA’s statement the driver claimed that an unidentified vehicle had caused damage to his car while driving along the road. The driver also requested that the incident be formally recorded by authorities. However, as MIA stressed, when asked whether he suspected any intentional wrongdoing, the driver “did not express any belief that the vehicle had been deliberately damaged.”
The MIA’s investigation into the incident has been ongoing, the agency said, and as the statement reads authorities are working to clarify the circumstances surrounding the damage and determine whether the actions were intentional, while continuing efforts to identify those responsible.
Multiple observers, including PACE and ODIHR ones, reported an unusual activity near the polling precints on the day of the elections. PACE report said observers noticed minivans parked outside polling stations, with numerous individuals inside. The report said that “representatives of the ruling party attempted to control the activities inside the polling stations”, even interfering in conversations between PACE observers and other accredited observers by demanding translations from English into Georgian.”
The report further noted that PACE teams observed that many so-called “citizen observers”, some of them aggressive and unwilling to speak to observers, were unable to identify the organisations they represented and had to struggle to read the names of these “organisations” from their badges.” The report says that these individuals admitted that they were working for these “organisations” only for election da and that it became clear that they were, in fact, affiliated with the ruling party.
The OSCE/ODIHR monitors noted numerous indications of pressure on voters, tracking by ruling party structures and affiliates, and overcrowding at many polling stations, noting “the presence of individuals at polling stations registered as observers who acted on behalf of contestants, mainly the ruling party.”
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