WEST GEORGIAN AUTHORITIES READY, OPPOSITION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TBILISI 000829 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/CARC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM GG SUBJECT: WEST GEORGIAN AUTHORITIES READY, OPPOSITION DUBIOUS BEFORE ELECTION ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Poloff visited the city of Zugdidi in Georgia's Western Samegrelo region for a pre-election visit May 6-7. Poloff met with regional government, the District Election Commission (DEC),four political parties, NGOs and journalists, and conducted an interview on free and fair elections with local radio station Atenati. The local Gamgebeli claimed that the pre-election period is normal, with no problems. He told Poloff that the authorities know any intimidation or interference in the election process is impermissible. The DEC Chair claimed to be fully prepared for the elections. The ruling United National Movement (UNM) regional representative also said things were going smoothly. (He candidly explained UNM methods to get out the vote.) Three opposition parties disagreed, and alleged they face unfair local TV coverage and intimidation. The local NGO coordinator claimed that her organization was trained and ready. Local journalists agreed that only local radio station Atenati was providing equal campaign coverage. Poloff pointed out the importance that these elections be free, fair and transparent in each meeting. He said each organization had responsibility toward this end. Overall, the region appeared well poised for the election, with fewer areas of real concern than in January. End summary. "All is Well" in Government, DEC -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On May 6, Poloff met with local Gamgebeli (the regional government administrator, hired by the city council) Aleksander Kobalia in Zugdidi. Kobalia (whose father was an MP who died the morning of May 7, and whose family owns the local TV station, Odishi) claimed that the pre-election period is normal, with no problems. He told Poloff that he and all authorities, including law enforcement, knew any intimidation or interference in the election process is impermissible. He claimed he understood the importance these elections hold for Georgia, and that they must be free, fair, and transparent. ¶3. (SBU) Poloff next met Nana Okujava, the DEC Chairwoman for Zugdidi district. She claimed everything was on schedule, saying the DEC was well aware of its tasks and responsibilities and all 13 commissioners were working together toward a common goal of transparent elections. She noted the district has 8 candidates vying for the �0A;majoritarian seat and 12 political parties on the party list ballot. Of the 105 precincts (PECs),only 5 had working landlines for faxes and Okujava was unaware of additional faxes. Consequently, she was planning to send the protocols in from the DEC, and not directly from the precincts to the Central Election Commission (CEC). (Note: USAID-funded implementing partner IFES -- formerly known as the International Foundation for Election Systems -- has subsequently said that the CEC will provide GSM faxes to nearly half the other precincts in the district. End note.) Poloff stressed the importance that these elections be free, fair and transparent. Okujava said she understood this. UNM: It's a Family Affair -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Poloff next met Lasha Damenia, head of the UNM in Zugdidi. Damenia affably explained that the UNM feels quite confident about their chances in the coming election. He said their staff is largely unchanged since January. He claimed there were some problems with the voters' list this time, but their door-to-door campaign was successful. Having collected family information and likely voting trends, the UNM will now provide voters' lists to their party activists at each PEC on Election Day. Starting at 3 PM, the party members will consult with the PEC chairs throughout the rest of the day to review the voting register and see who has not yet voted. The party activists will then go to those people who have not yet voted and offer them a ride to the PEC to vote. Poloff asked what the UNM does with those who seem disinclined to vote for them. Damenia said they usually approach several of that person's family members or friends, and encourage them to persuade the undecided voter to vote UNM. Damenia explained that a UNM supporter could say "maybe you don't like this (UNM) candidate, but we're voting for him and he's better than the rest. We think you should vote for him too." (Comment: While not necessarily ethical, this conduct does not violate the election code, unless the party activists or chair interfere with the voting or tabulation processes. End comment.) ¶5. (SBU) Damenia claimed that majoritarian candidate Koba Davitashvili (the Joint Opposition candidate, not from Zugdidi) could make problems if he did not win. Damenia said TBILISI 00000829 002 OF 003 Koba only draws 4-5 people at each of his meetings. Damenia gave Gocha Pipia (a former vodka-distiller and independent incumbent MP) a better chance in the majoritarian race, but said "he has not been seen in Zugdidi since he went to Parliament four years ago." Damenia claimed the UNM majoritarian candidate, Pridon Todua (a heart doctor, who lived in Moscow for years and has some family ties and a small clinic in Zugdidi),is the best candidate and very much a local. Damenia acknowledged the importance of transparency and fairness to the election and dismissed the likelihood of anything else. Poloff pointed out the responsibility of all parties to not interfere with the election process. The Opposition Disagrees -------------- ¶6. (SBU) On May 6, Poloff also met with Temur Toloraia, the local majoritarian candidate of Giorgi Targamadze's Christian-Democratic Movement (CDM). (Note: Toloraia gained some small fame as the lawyer who successfully sued to reverse the government's decision to close the Zugdidi market. End note.) He claimed his party had no access to coverage on Odishi TV. Although they were priced out of the market (all parties agreed the normal cost of 200 USD per minute is now 600 USD),Toloraia said they would not be given airtime even if they had money for ads. He said his campaign motto is "Zugdidi without Clans," and that the Kobalia family is the longtime face of clannish corruption in Zugdidi. Toloraia also showed Poloff a newspaper article in which UNM candidate Todua was quoted as saying he "had not planned to enter politics" and was doing it due to UNM prodding. Asked what he would do after the election, Toloraia claimed "we will win." Toloraia claimed his door-to-door campaign had also discovered problems with the voters' list. ¶7. (SBU) On May 7, Poloff met Republican majoritarian candidate, and former judge, Nona Toloraia (no known relation to Temur, above). She claimed that her party supporters were experiencing intimidation at meetings, including by supposed UNM supporters who are violently threatening her constituents at their homes. She said that her door-to-door campaign had revealed 600 dead persons on the voters' list, and 980 people registered without addresses (Zugdidi district borders Abkhazia, and some Gali residents have voted in Zugdidi elections). Toloraia also complained about the inaccessibility of placing ads on Odishi TV. She claimed the UNM is planning to conduct voting carousels in the villages (where few cameras are located). She appealed to international observers to spend the entire day in one PEC, saying "15 minutes in one PEC is not enough (to prevent malfeasance)." ¶8. (SBU) Joint Opposition candidate Koba Davitashvili was not present for a planned May 7 meeting, so Poloff spoke with Zviad Pipia, a party leader from Tbilisi. Pipia claimed their supporters are scared due to pressure from local authorities. He claimed the voters' lists were in bad shape, with many IDPs included on them but not present in the district. He alleged that teachers would be fired if they were seen as supporting the opposition. Pipia claimed that he and his party activists were shooting a video of the pressure tactics and had reported intimidation to the police, but had not yet received a response. Pipia alleged that they too are blocked from Odishi TV and billboards, and only the Georgian Public Broadcaster (in Tbilisi) would give them airtime. Pipia claimed Davitashvili's campaign slogan is "Not Violence -- Peace and Justice." Notably, one of the Joint Opposition's DEC commissioners joined the meeting and said that he had not had any problems at the DEC. Poloff told Pipia that the Embassy and international community is holding all parties responsible for their actions and words. We said violence has no place in the elections or in Georgian society. ISFED and the Media -------------- ¶9. (SBU) On May 7, Poloff held a roundtable with local NGO International Society for Free and Elections and Democracy (ISFED) Regional Coordinator Miranda Meskhi, Radio Atenati journalists, and other media representatives (including an Odishi employee). Meskhi confirmed that she will have ISFED observers at nearly all the PECs in Zugdidi. She agreed that the DEC is well-prepared and was aware of all stages of the DEC and PEC training plan. She attends all DEC sessions, which she said are open. She claimed no opposition parties have filed any claims with the DEC. The Radio Atenati journalists detailed their USAID-funded IFES program, which was carried over from the presidential election. The program TBILISI 00000829 003 OF 003 provides equal airtime to each political party and dedicates a significant amount of news each morning to the election. They are also running a call-in program called "Right to Vote," formatted around problems they see in the election. All journalists agreed that Odishi TV is essentially blocking any coverage of the opposition. ¶10. (U) On May 7, Poloff conducted a taped interview with Radio Atenati. He explained the importance of these elections to Georgia, that they be free and fair, and that violence is unacceptable in a democratic society. Poloff also mentioned that USAID is contributing millions of dollars to elections assistance, and that Embassy and other international observers are watching the elections closely. Comment -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Overall, the Zugdidi district appeared to be in decent shape heading into the election. The DECs lack of awareness about the faxes appears to have been addressed. The lack of access to local TV coverage and problems with the voters' list appeared genuine and founded. The allegations of intimidation, while difficult to prove, were consistent. However, even these claims appeared less overt and frequent than those during the January election. TEFFT