ALL ELECTIONS ALL THE TIME: PAS-TBILISI GOES ALL OUT IN

UNCLAS TBILISI 000037 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR EUR/PPD AND EUR/CARC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OIIP SCUL KPAO GG SUBJECT: ALL ELECTIONS ALL THE TIME: PAS-TBILISI GOES ALL OUT IN SUPPORT OF GEORGIAN ELECTIONS ¶1. Summary. On November 8, in an effort to resolve a growing political crisis in the country, President Saakashvili proposed snap presidential elections for January 5. PAS-Tbilisi sat down as a section to brainstorm and develop a robust series of public diplomacy programs to support the elections within this very tight timeframe. PAS programming involved every person in the PD section, and focused on outreach to youth; the regions and ethnic minorities; journalists and the media; and the academic elite in the way PD does best; namely, through people-to-people interaction. From activities at American Corners; information outreach through the IRC; English-language teaching modules; a televised mock presidential debate for youth; digital video conferences (DVCs) with U.S. foreign policy experts; a speaker program on media ethics; alumni webchats and internet fora; election information outreach in Azeri, Armenian, Russian and Ossetian languages; and PAS support for Embassy pre-election circuit rider trips and election-day monitoring throughout Georgia, PAS carried out a wide spectrum of targeted programming. We will now fine tune our programming and start gearing up to support Georgia's parliamentary elections this spring. End Summary. A LITTLE BACKROUND -------------- ¶2. The demonstrations and opposition protests in early November 2007, and the government crack-down that followed, exposed divisions in Georgian society. The January elections were hotly contested and represented the first modern opportunity for Georgians to settle their differences democratically and experience the first regular transition of power. Many areas of Georgian society had particular concerns in this election campaign. The elite were divided; the media were challenged to develop as a free and independent voice for the country; minority populations in the country and people living in the regions often felt that Tbilisi was ignoring their concerns; and youth seemed uninterested in the campaign. ¶3. The excessively politicized role of the media was also a central concern in Georgia. On November 7, when the Government of Georgia used force to disband protests, the Government shut down Imedi television for a month, and imposed a state of emergency which banned all independent news reporting, except by the Government station. Meanwhile, the other national stations are either government owned or strongly pro-government in their editorial policy. "NOW I UNDERSTAND WHY ELECTIONS ARE IMPORTANT" - YOUTH OUTREACH -------------- -------------- ¶4. PAS identified three primary ways of targeting the youth of Georgia to increase interest in the election campaign and political issues in general: web-chats involving US exchange program alumni, English language modules focused on elections for use in schools, and a televised mock presidential debate held on a popular television youth show. ¶5. FLEX, UGRAD, and Muskie alumni participated in three on-line election-related web chats organized by IREX's Internet Access and Training Program (IATP). Five of the seven presidential candidates participated, and alumni were able to ask questions, 140 in total, on such topics as presidential candidates political platforms, poverty reduction, social programs of each presidential candidate, election rules and procedures, conflict resolution and civic integration issues, educational reform and other current issues. FLEX alumni also organized meetings with three of the candidates. The Georgian Institute for Public Administration (GIPA),a PAS grantee institution, also organized public fora on the elections. Over 100 students, professors, and prominent Georgian journalists attended the meetings with presidential candidates organized by GIPA. GIPA Radio interviewed each presidential candidate and posted the interviews on the GIPA Radio website (http://www.gipa.ge/radio/index_en.php). The meetings were covered by all major Georgian TV stations. The Rustavi 2 weekly show "PS" dedicated special news coverage to the meetings at GIPA. Alumni mentioned that the meetings with presidential candidates were very informative and they had a rare opportunity to ask questions. ¶6. Working with the English Teachers Association of Georgia (ETAG), English teachers were encouraged to develop special classroom modules on the elections. PAO attended election-related lessons in four different schools where interactive, participatory classroom discussion focused on what characteristics a president should have (religious, patriotic, self-controlled, well-educated, etc.); on teamwork devoted to developing party platforms; and on mock campaigns. Student interest was high, and the rectors and invited guests sat in on the classes. French-German television, ARTE, serendipitously covered one such class session after overhearing the teacher talk about it at an internet cafe. ¶7. PAS worked with the producer and moderators of Kedeli, the most popular television program for youth in Georgia, to host a mock presidential debate. Four "candidates" ran for office, including one of the regular Kedeli hosts, identified by color to avoid any association with any specific candidate. Candidates presented themselves to the audience by means of brief videos and platform statements, and took a number of questions from the studio audience. A U.S. Fulbrighter, and certified debate coach, prepared them for the debate and acted as the debate moderator, using the opportunity to discuss the rules and format of debates, before the studio audience voted. During the taping, even the camera crew was transfixed by the process and crowded in the wings of the studio to watch the proceedings. (PAO overheard them asking each other, "Who won," when the vote tally was announced.) The program received a large number of SMS messages while on air which the station scrolled along the bottom of the screen, including "Now I understand why elections are so important." The producer termed the show "one of our best projects this year." GETTING OUT TO THE REGIONS AND MINORITY OUTREACH -------------- --- ¶8. PAS joined Pol-Econ staff on circuit rider teams to five cities in the regions of Georgia to survey the pre-election situation. PAS staff assisted in gathering information on the state of the regional media, arranged media interviews, and coordinated speaking opportunities on election themes at American Corners and American Study Centers. Analysis of the local media was particular useful in evaluating election campaigning in the regions in terms of balance in reporting and equal media access for all candidates. PAS staff also served as election monitors throughout Georgia on election day. ¶9. The regions of southern Georgia that have large Armenian and Azeri populations were identified as a particular concern due to the lack of information in the languages they understand and a Russian nourished traditional distrust to the prospect of Georgia's integration into western institutions. There is less connection to the central government and some hostility towards NATO and Georgia's westward integration. PAS worked with the Central Election Commission (CEC) to translate brochures and posters on the voting process into Armenian, Azerbaijani, and even Ossetian and Russian, and coordinated the distribution of these materials with the CEC. President Saakashvili attributed the high voter turnout in those regions to the voter's education campaign which we participated in. REACHING A BROADER AUDIENCE -------------- ¶10. PAS used the pre-election period to roll out a more invigorated electronic outreach program through our IRC, the American Center for Information Resources (ACIR). In order to reach both the broadest possible audience and to expand our client base, the ACIR began a systematic electronic campaign to share information broadly connected to elections with PAS contacts including media members, think tank members academics and civil servants. This included analytical pieces on the American elections, articles on how debates are run, as well as information related to NATO, and the possible independence of Kosovo (an issue of great interest to Georgians since in comments to the press the Russian government has explicitly connected Kosovo to the break-away regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia, threatening to recognize the seperatist regions if Kosovo is recognized). ¶11. On December 31, 2007 PAS placed an op-ed under Assistant Secretary Daniel Fried's signature in the weekly "Kviras Palitra," SIPDIS Georgia's most popular newspaper. The op-ed was picked up by two national television stations, which highlighted Fried's key points that the elections must be free and fair, that the losers must accept the results, that Georgia's NATO aspirations are tied to this election, and that the winners must deliver good governance. Tensions in the pre-election period have been high. Fried's statement helped defuse this and refocus the debate, and reminded Georgians of the possibilities democratic elections offer. Fried is perceived in Georgia as balanced and insightful; his op-ed presented to Georgian audiences a deeper understanding of the broader context of the elections. EQUIPPING THE MEDIA -------------- ¶12. In order to address the perceived pro-government bias in the broadcast media, PAS brought Dr. William Silcock, an Arizona State University Professor of Journalism, to Tbilisi to speak on media ethics in election campaigns. To maximize his influence, Dr. Silcock was brought directly into the newsrooms of the two most popular remaining national channels - Rustavi 2 and Public Television. He was given unprecedented access to Rustavi 2 and worked with editors, producers, and their website coordinator to train them on how elections are covered in the US and how to provide balanced analysis. For example he taught journalists how U.S. journalists will regularly "fact-check" claims that appear in politicians advertisements. Rustavi-2 has already asked PAS to bring him back to work with them prior to the spring parliamentary elections. REACHING THE ELITES IN GEORGIA -------------- ¶13. In order to reach the media and academic elite of Georgia, PAS held two Digital Video Conferences with political analysts from the United States. Over 60 academics, think-tank and NGO leaders, Muskie alumni and journalists participated in the two DVCs organized with Dr. Cory Welt of Georgetown University and with former Ambassador to Belarus and Georgia Dr. Kenneth Yalowitz, now the head of Dartmouth University's Dickey Center for International Understanding. The DVCs allowed for extensive and wide-ranging discussion and questions on the importance of the upcoming election, Georgia's chances for NATO membership, Georgian-Russian relations, and likely developments in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Both DVCs were reported in local newspapers and on the radio. Participants expressed great interest in further DVCs, some even suggesting a monthly DVC on such topics. TEFFT