Irina Sarishvili:
Sarishvili believes that Georgia is a semi-autocracy with more in common with a Soviet republic than a modern democracy. She plans to minimize mechanisms of state control over the news media, civil society and the judiciary.
Mikheil Saakashvili:
Supporters say that Saakashvili's judicial reforms were meant to lay the legal groundwork for the creation of an independent judiciary. United National Movement Party MP Giga Bokeria told EurasiaNet that the campaign to reduce corruption in courts has been four-pronged: securing the court's financial independence, naming young judges, dramatically raising salaries, and letting the judges dominate the self-regulatory body, the Supreme Council of Justice. Saakashvili's campaign staff says that they are convinced that these changes will bear results in the coming years. "Last year we implemented the legislative components of judiciary reform, now it goes to the judges themselves" to perform their duties in a responsible manner, spokesperson Davit Bakradze told EurasiaNet.
Levan Gachechiladze:
Gachechiladze has been sharply critical of Georgia's three major TV channels, accusing them of taking a slant in favor of Saakashvili's administration. As a way to promote fair media, Gachechiladze has suggested selling shares in the government-financed Georgian Public Broadcasting Company to citizens. He has also proposed creating a business news network akin to Bloomberg to help news outlets move away from political patronage and learn how to operate as a business.
Davit Gamkrelidze:
"In today's Georgia, the authorities control . . . society and . . . society cannot control the authorities," reads a Gamkrelidze presidential platform proposal entitled "We Believe in God and We Are Able." Gamkrelidze says that "he is able" to promote freedom of speech and information. He promises that his government would be responsive to input from the non-governmental sector and that media content restrictions would be minimal.
Shalva Natelashvili:
"Today the mass media is under arrest," Natelashvili charges, adding that TV channels toe the government's line and often broadcast "slanderous propaganda" directed against the opposition and him personally. This makes Natelashvili nostalgic for the Soviet Union's glasnost era. "Mass media were much more progressive back then," Natelashvili says. He vows to do away with "all kinds of political pressure, limitations and censorship exercised over the mass media." His platform also states that "The non-governmental sector will be strengthened . . . in order to ensure their effective control over the government."
