TBILISI ELECTIONS UPDATE 12/10/07

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 003064

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR DAS BRYZA AND EUR/CARC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/10/2017
TAGS: PGOV PHUM GG
SUBJECT: TBILISI ELECTIONS UPDATE 12/10/07

REF: TBILISI 3046

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

--------------
OSCE Ambassadorial Meeting
--------------


1. (C) On 7 December, members of the OSCE Ambassadorial
Working Group were provided a copy of the letter sent by
Ambassador Terhi Hakala, Head of the OSCE Mission to Georgia,
to Acting President Nino Burjanadze. In the letter, Hakala
outlined the main issues which need to be addressed to ensure
the elections are free and fair (reftel) and requested an
English language copy of the final version of the Unified
Electoral Code and the contact information for an
interlocutor to whom the international community could
address electoral issues.


2. (C) During the meeting, the Head of the OSCE/ODIHR
Monitoring Team, Ambassador Dieter Boden, a German diplomat
who from 1999-2002 served as the UN Secretary General's
Special Representative in Georgia, and Matias Eorsi, Chief of
the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe (PACE)
Monitoring Group, briefed the group on their plans and
concerns leading up to January 5 election. Ambassador Boden
said that his group would issue two reports, one due out by
17 December, and the second which will be completed after
Christmas but before New Year's Day. Ambassador Boden
expects that short-term and long-term observers will be able
to cover 90 percent of the precincts on election day. Eorsi
shared with the group his observations and concerns:

- Voters claim they are being intimidated by police and
government authorities. Often the intimidation is subtle,
and voters are reluctant to appeal to law enforcement bodies
for fear of retribution.

- The perception of misuse of government resources exists
widely. While in some instances these perceptions may be
valid, alleged abuses are interpreted as a breach of public
trust.

- The focus of some opposition groups is January 6 and not
Election Day. Some are already presupposing that the
elections will not be open and fair and formulating their
plans. Eorsi stressed that all entities need to work with
government institutions to create an atmosphere of trust in
the electoral system.

- The misconception that cameras will monitor voters in the
precincts. Some voters are concerned that the cameras in
polling stations, ostensibly for monitoring the voters' list
and the ballot box, may be used to monitor their vote
selection. Eorsi said that the CEC needs to stress the
secrecy of the ballot to allay these fears. Ambassador said
that during the local elections cameras were used and no one
complained to observers about this issue.

- Russian Members may request to be part of OSCE/ODIHR Short
Term Observer Teams (STOs). The consensus of the group was
that to their knowledge no Russians had applied to be part of
the team, but even if this should occur, the Georgians would
be powerless to alter the composition even though they may
oppose it.

-------------- --
ODIHR Ambassador Dieter Boden Meets Ambassador
-------------- --


3. (C) On December 10 Dieter Boden had a follow-up meeting
with the Ambassador and Embassy staff to review election
monitoring plans with an eye to coordinating ODIHR, Embassy
and other monitoring of the January 5 election. Boden said
that ODIHR would have 28 Long Term Observers, most of whom
will arrive this week, and 300 Short Term Observers who will
arrive a few days before the election. Boden outlined two
likely issues to watch: potential abuse of administrative
resources and intimidation with regard to voting. On the
first, Boden said that there needs to be a clear definition
of what constitutes an abuse, with some things such as denial
of convention facilities to opposition parties in the regions
being obvious and others being less so. On the second, he
said that intimidation is difficult to prove. He said his
observers will be instructed to look into these things but
make assessments based on hard evidence. The Ambassador
agreed. USAID Director Bob Wilson outlined the $5.5 million
in USG assistance to advance free and fair elections,
including efforts to study the feasibility of exit polls and
to improve the quality of the voters' lists. Boden mentioned
his concern about the presence of cameras in the polling

TBILISI 00003064 002 OF 002


stations, which the government is using to prevent tampering
with ballot boxes. However, it was a consensus that so long
as cameras are focused away from the polling booths there is
little likelihood that ballot secrecy will be compromised.
Boden also expressed concern about uncertainty and lack of
control over voting at Georgian embassies in foreign
countries. It was agreed that more information about the
number of voters registered abroad and how the voting process
will be controlled should be requested from the CEC.

-------------- --------------
Ambassador Meets Conservative Party Leader Usupashvili
-------------- --------------


4. (C) On December 10 Conservative Party Leader David
Usupashvili (please protect) met Ambassador to discuss
Usupashvili's recent visit to London to meet opposition
candidate and oligarch Badri Patarkatsishvili. Usupashvili,
traveling with two other opposition members, said that
Patarkatsishvili offered to join the United Opposition in
exchange for the position of Prime Minister. Usupashvili
said that the United Opposition was split on whether to
accept such an offer: while on the one hand it would
guarantee another 10% of the vote, on the other many worried
that Patarkatsishvili and his financial means would eclipse
the rest of the opposition. Patarkatsisvili reportedly plans
to use 1 billion USD in his own funds to support the start of
small and medium enterprises in Georgia. Usupashvili also
believed that Labor Party Leader Shalva Natelashvili would
join the United Opposition, bringing his 5-7% of the voters,
should Patarkatsisvili join. Ultimately, Usupashvili did not
think the United Opposition could win without
Patarkatsishvili's votes. He also thought that the United
Opposition would not accept Patarkatsisvili's offer.
Usupashvili said he had tried to reach out to Acting
President Burjanadze to come to agreement on potential
coalitions, protections for the losing party, and composition
of the government based on various election outcomes. He
indicated that Burjanadze was unable to talk freely in her
office and accepted the Ambassador's offer to suggest that
Burjanadze meet Usupashvili at a mutually convenient
location.

-------------- --------------
Central Election Commission Registers Seven Candidates
-------------- --------------


5. (U) The Central Election Commission (CEC) registered seven
out of 13 candidates who initially submitted the minimum of
50,000 signatures to the CEC. Mikheil Saakashvili, United
National Council of opposition (UNC) Levan Gachechiladze, New
Rightists Davit Gamkrelidze, Labor Party leader Shalva
Natelashvili, Party of Hope Candidate Irina Sarishvili, Party
of Future Gia Maisashvili, and oligarch Badri
Patarkatsishvili were registered. Political unknown Levan
Kidzinidze's submission is still being verified by the CEC.

--------------
Imedi TV to Resume Broadcast This Week
--------------


6. (U) Imedi TV will resume broadcasts the week of December
10 with limited news coverage, with plans for news bulletins
every three hours (compared to each hour before the station's
closure). Giorgi Targamadze, head of Imedi TV political
programs, said he expected limited broadcasts to resume
December 11 or 12. A test broadcast was done December 8 for
15 minutes but the station then went off the air and
currently the station's logo is being broadcast. Targamadze
said Imedi is working to restore damaged equipment in the
studios, including the main studio's control unit, internal
phone network and Internet connection. Targamadze said Imedi
management was also working to replace several key anchors
who left the station after it was shutdown, including Inga
Grigolia and Eka Khoperia, who hosted the late night
political talk show, On the Air. On December 7 Saakashvili's
campaign spokesman, Davit Bakradze, said the National
Movement will participate in political talk shows hosted by
Imedi. This ends a year long boycott by the government and
ruling party officials of political shows on Imedi.
TEFFT