Georgia: NGO reports violations at local elections

Today, in Georgia, the nongovernmental organization (NGO) named "The Human Rights Centre" held a press conference, where it has presented its post-election report "General violations and disputable actions detected by observers on May 30, 2010, in Svanetia and Kakhetia".

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, the document has fixed the presence at polling stations or near them of certain power agents in uniform, violations of the voting procedure and vote tabulation, and setting up of polling stations in inadequate places.

Besides, the report notes admission to voting of people without their IDs and of people who had no right to vote. Some voters were insufficiently fluent in the Georgian language, and that prevented them from making a proper choice, others were accompanied by unidentified persons or members of electoral commissions, who followed voters into the booths and prompted for whom to vote.

Facts of hampering to voting, physical pressure and threats of punishment to voters are noted. As a whole, according to the report, eight acts were drawn up: five - about violations in Kakhetia and three - in Svanetia.

According to Anna Natsvlishvili, an activist of the above Centre, not ordinary law enforcers, but heads of district police divisions were seen intimidating people.

"Now, threats are heard addressed to witnesses of violations and observers of physical violence and dismissal from work and expressed by members of electoral commissions and officials from power bodies," Ucha Nanuashvili, head of the Human Rights Centre, said at the press conference.