Transparency International – Georgia, a local corruption watchdog and key election observer, slammed the Interior Ministry’s decision to empower U.S.-sanctioned official Zviad Karazishvili, also known as “Khareba,” to oversee the forming of “territorial groups” tasked with “detecting and preventing violations during the pre-election period and on election day. “Khareba,” one of the officials responsible for the brutal crackdown on citizens during protests against the Foreign Agents Law, has been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for serious human rights abuses.
“It is alarming that the Minister of Interior has not only not dismissed Z. Kharazishvili from his post, but has appointed him as the de facto overseer of the election-related processes,” TI-Georgia said, adding: “This means that “Khareba” and the “task forces” under his control can take action in cases where people gather near polling stations, however peaceful such gatherings may be.”
TI-Georgia calls on the Interior Ministry “to immediately revise his Ordinance and to repeal the Special Task Department Director’s involvement in the “territorial task forces” and the police forces’ power to take so-called “preventive measures” against the voters peacefully assembled nearby their polling stations.”
According to the decree of the Minister of Interior, the so-called “territorial groups” will be established to “detect and prevent” electoral violations in the precincts. This decree grants these groups the authority to bar individuals from participating in elections if they are reported for disrupting the electoral process. Given the lack of trust in the Ministry and its forces, the public has viewed this decree as controversial, especially upon learning that the U.S.-sanctioned “Khareba” will influence the process as he will be responsible for forming these groups.
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