CEC CHAIR GIVES AMBASSADOR ELECTION UPDATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 001781

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CARC AND DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/22/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL GG
SUBJECT: CEC CHAIR GIVES AMBASSADOR ELECTION UPDATE

REF: TBILISI 1477

Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: In a follow-up to the June 18 OSCE
Ambassadors Group on Elections (reftel),Ambassador met with
Central Election Commission (CEC) Chairman Guram
Chalagashvili on July 18. Chalagashvili said the CEC is
close to completing work on the voters' list and inaccuracies
are now down to "one percent." He said a door-to-door
campaign to verify the list will take place in October when
27,000 election workers will conduct the checks over 25 days.
Ambassador commended Chalagashvili on including the
opposition in preparing and checking the lists.
Additionally, the CEC is also making progress on minority
involvement in elections. Chalagashvili said a hotline will
be operating in Armenian, Azeri, and Russian ahead of the
elections. Chalagashvili said the CEC is emphasizing
expanding training for election officials, adding that the
CEC is "focusing on the regions." He said that a training
plan is nearly complete. He stressed that he welcomes
regular progress updates with Ambassador and will continue to
work closely with the OSCE Ambassadors Group on Elections
(AWG). End Summary.

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Checking it Twice
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2. (C) Chalagashvili began the July 18 meeting with
Ambassador offering an update on the AWG goals. He said the
voter's lists were "our number one problem, and it is almost
solved. The difference is now less than one percent." He
said that door-to-door checks will take place in October and
the final list will be delivered 20 days before the 2008
Presidential election. Chalagashvili stated that the CEC is
working with a known company on a 5-year plan and strategy
regarding the lists. They have completed the first phase (of
18 months),and will issue the lists in Georgian and English
in 20 days. A copy will be made available to Ambassador.
The CEC will also launch its new website in two weeks. The
CEC is making working groups with a commissioner for each
group, in order to support third party involvement
(international observers, organizers, technical advisers,
etc.) The CEC is involving the opposition in the
door-to-door checks and certification of the lists. Labor
and The Industrialists will each have 2 representatives, and
3 more opposition representatives will be chosen "by the
competition." Poloff reiterated that involvement of the
opposition in checking the lists is extremely positive and
bears public awareness. Chalagashvili advised NGO's are also
invited to participate in the process and a presentation for
the lists with all parties and NGO's is planned. He said "We
want all to participate to ensure fair elections and
acceptance by all parties."

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Minority Report
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3. (C) Chalagashvili said the issue of national minorities
will again be addressed. He stressed that the list in 2006
was the best possible. Improving the list for minorities in
2008 is a priority for the CEC, as is everyone being able to
vote in their own language. He said each CEC member will
work with their own district, and they will have a hotline
operating in Azeri, Armenian and Russian for the voters.
Ambassador emphasized that increasing minority participation
in 2008 is a core tenet of the AWG. Chalagashvili is also
trying to coordinate a public awareness campaign for
minorities. He asked if the Embassy could assist with the
awareness campaign and assistance in training election
workers. (Comment: USAID is working on both of these
issues.)

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Training Day
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4. (C) Ambassador asked about the size and training of the
CEC staff, and how many temporary election workers they have
(current and future). Chalagashvili said the CEC has 65
full-time employees, and 5 full-timers in each district.
They will temporarily hire 40 additional employees and 5 for
each district during the election. 9 paid persons for each
precinct will also be hired for 25 days in order to conduct
the door-to-door checks. This will result in 27,000 paid
election workers. Opposition members will be included among
the paid workers. Talks are also underway with the
government for a larger building, to accommodate more
observers and training. A training plan is complete, but not

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yet signed due to financial issues. Chalagashvili hopes to
solve the problem with the CEC's own funding. Ambassador
advised Chalagashvili that his recent conversation with
Council of Europe Representative Igor Gaon was positive
regarding Georgia's electoral progress. He also emphasized
the need to continue the constant struggle against
corruption.

TEFFT