Two leading Georgian CSOs Transparency International (TI) - Georgia and the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) issued a detailed joint report on the Government-orchestrated large-scale scheme of vote buying and voters’ illegal mobilization.
The report is based on documentary evidence handed to the NGPs by the recently arrested former deputy head of the State Security Service of Georgia, Soso Gogashvili. Gogashvili was recently arrested following publicly threatening the Georgian Dream leadership that he would publicize evidence proving election fraud and large-scale manipulation.
The report covers 2018 presidential and 2020 parliamentary elections and lays out systematic and nation-wide scale voter mobilization and coercion schemes in favor of the ruling party involving all branches of government, including and very much so the entire law enforcement apparatus, as well as public schools.
First hand reports and documents demonstrating illegal benefits to individuals in exchange for mobilizing votes in favor of Salome Zourabichvili in 2018 included: cancellation of probationary status, early release from prison, restoration of suspended driver’s license, easing charges in ongoing criminal cases (requalification), improvement of conditions for serving sentences, postponement of military service obligations of conscripts, dismissals and appointments of public school principals based on their willingness to mobilize votes for Georgian Dream and other abuses.
The report also includes documents proving the State Security Service collected personal information and information on political preferences of public service employees laying out ways to pressure them.
"Information obtained from the National Probation Agency makes it clear that during the 2018 presidential election period (especially before the second round and months after), the number of persons whose probationary status was rescinded and whose driving rights were restored significantly increased. Additionally, many persons have confirmed the circumstances mentioned in the documents, in the reports by various TV channels," the report reads.
CSOs note that according to the documents, the scheme was run by the then Deputy Minister of Justice, Giorgi Pataridze and the head of the General Inspection Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Alexander Khojevanishvili.
Abusing criminal justice system for voter mobilization
The documents reveal that personal details and cases of 1,700 individuals, including convicts, were Georgian Dream regional headquarters’ e-mail addresses to the address securgd@gmail.com. Later, after filtering, the lists were sent to Mr Pataridze and Mr Khojevanishvili who handled the cases on the Government’s behalf. The data included specific details on how exactly each and every individual could be useful for Georgian Dream.
The analysis suggests that the convicts concerned and their family members mobilized votes in Georgian Dream’s favour and indeed were granted cancellation of probationary status or even of criminal record.
Official statistics from the National Probation Agency support this argument. In November-December, 2018 alone, more than 3,000 people were released from probation, 50 times higher than in previous months.
"As can be seen from the correspondence and the analysis of the sent data, convicts’ family members and/or the convicts themselves, in case of release, promised to work for the mobilization of votes in favor of Georgian Dream, and the party sent their lists to the Deputy Minister of Justice," the report reads.
Terrorizing public schools
The evidence also suggests that Georgian Dream and the State Security Service jointly created political dossiers of public-school principals and made appointments only if they were willing to engage in voter mobilization, including through coercion of teachers and their families. There are individual cases revealing that the Security Service would recommend to dismiss a public-school principal even if he/she was as politically neutral, let alone if the individual concerned would “secretly” sympathize with opposition parties.
“A typical example of this can be considered discrimination against public school principals on political grounds. From fall 2020 to August 2021 the Ministry of Education and Science did not re-appoint at least 112 public school principals after the expiration of their term of office,” the document stated and explained that out of these 112 persons, 95 principals were rejected based on detailed study of their political preferences by the State Security Service.
The service also carried out extensive political profiling of individuals prior to their appointment to various managerial positions in public service.
The last part of the document describes the ways of mobilizing law enforcement apparatus employees and their family members for elections.
Returning a suspended or revoked driver's license
According to the circulated document, between October 2018 and January 2019, a list of about 900 people whose driving license was suspended or revoked was sent from securgd@gmail.com to Alexander Khojevanishvili, the head of the General Inspection of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Publicly available statistics also prove this argument, as it confirms spike in restoration of revoked driver’s licenses.
Influencing ongoing criminal cases in exchange of voter mobilization is one of the report’s hallmarks. The report contains data of 20 people whose sentences were reduced through plea bargaining deals.
Father of one of such individuals mentioned in the files confirmed to TV Pirveli that his son, who was charged with theft, had indeed signed a plea agreement.
Improving the conditions of prison sentences in exchange of voter mobilization is another documented pattern.
With a letter dated of October 18, 2018 Gldani district mayor of Tbilisi Beka Mikautadze requests improvement of prison conditions of serving the sentence for two convicts, whose authority locally would help Georgian Dream for the presidential election runoff that year.
Abusing Revenue Service
The documents also contain 28 instances for tax debt restructuring for businesses in exchange of voter mobilization of their employees and their families.
"These documents included personal data protected under law. For example, it contained criminal cases related to a person (the owner in the case of a company) and his family members, border crossing reports, income, etc. In the same column, it was mentioned whether the person had any kind of connection with any political party (donation, contract, remuneration)," the report reads.
Transparency International – Georgia and ISFED say the data raises doubts that the Revenue Service made the decision on political grounds in agreement with the ruling party and the State Security.
Assigning law enforcement to GD local chapters
Transparency International and ISFED also said the files contained numerous instances in which GD regional leaders would request with the party leadership to assign law enforcement officials to party branches for election period
"Although the documents in our possession do not directly show the response of the party leaders to these demands, the allegedly organized and systematic nature of this process reveals that this was an established practice and this scheme was in full effect during the election period," the report reads.
Both NGOs said the evidence points to a large-scale criminal activity as the law explicitly forbids abuse of the law enforcement agencies foe election purposes.
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