Kukava: candidate for deputy from the Georgian party in power blackmails the population

Valery Giorgobiani, a candidate for a majority deputy from the party in power of Georgia - the United National Movement - is blackmailing people. This was stated today by Kakha Kukava, one of the leaders of the Conservative Party and a member of the United Opposition, in a press conference, having made public an audio record of the sitting held in the administration of the Tsager District.

The essence of the record is as follows. Valery Giorgobiani - a candidate from the National Movement for a majority deputy from the Tsager District - charged the head and the employees of the local government bodies, and the workers of the state-budget-funded organizations, with the task to bring, on the voting day, 80 percent of voters' votes at the parliamentary elections to the United National Movement. Should the demand fail, all the employees will be under threat of firing.

"This record was made on April 30, 2008, and you can hear the voice of Valery Giorgobiani, a candidate for a majority deputy from the party in power - the United National Movement, who spoke at the sitting of the administration of the Tsager District. I think it is a criminal offence. The United National Board has already transferred this record to international organizations," Mr Kukava has stated.

However, as Kakha Kukava has emphasized, he still has some doubts as to the authenticity of the record; therefore he has demanded from law enforcement bodies to examine the record.

Should the authenticity of the record be confirmed, the oppositionists demand to initiate a criminal case on the fact of building obstacles to the freedom of choice and politically-motivated persecutions.