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Significance of Vote |
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What's the importance of the January 5 presidential elections and plebiscites to Georgia?
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The January 5 presidential election was announced after a November 7, 2007 crackdown on opposition protestors in Tbilisi that sparked widespread concerns about Georgia's commitment to democratic reform. The vote, originally expected to be held in late 2008, is also largely seen as a vote of confidence in the administration of Mikheil Saakishvili. Its conduct is considered a key indicator of whether or not Georgia can adhere to the democratic reforms necessary to accelerate its partnership with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Union, among other international bodies.
The plebiscites are a less publicized part of the vote, though nonetheless carry political significance. One plebiscite will determine whether parliamentary elections should be held in the spring or fall of 2008 - a question that goes back to a constitutional dispute over presidential powers. This is largely seen as an overture to the opposition, which had called for a spring parliamentary election.
The second plebiscite, proposed by former President Saakashvili, will ask voters to indicate their readiness for Georgia to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Both plebiscites are non-binding expressions of popular will.
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Who's Who |
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How many candidates are running for president and from which parties?
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Seven candidates have had their registrations confirmed by the Central Election Commission for the January 5 presidential vote. They include Levan Gachechiladze (United National Opposition movement), Davit Gamkrelidze (New Rights Party), Gia Maisashvili (Party of the Future), Shalva Natelashvili (Labor Party), Badri Patarkatsishvili (candidacy proposed by a so-called "initiative group"), Mikheil Saakashvili (United National Movement Party), and Irina Sarishvili (Hope political movement).
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Candidate Criteria |
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What are the criteria to run for president?
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Any Georgian citizen, born in the Republic of Georgia, who is over 35 years old and has lived at least 15 years in Georgia can run for president. The individual, however, must live in Georgia at the time of the presidential elections, and to have done so for the preceding two years. A list of signatures from 50,000 supporters must be accepted by the Central Election Commission to finalize the candidacy. The fact that two of the candidates - Shalva Natelashvili and Badri Patarkatsishvili - are reportedly the respective targets of investigations related to suspected espionage and an alleged coup attempt does not disqualify them from the race.
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Campaign Finance |
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What are the limits on campaign spending? Do opposition candidates and the ruling party candidate, Mikheil Saakashvili, have equal access to these resources? And what organizations are monitoring campaign spending?
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The topic of campaign financing is a sensitive one in Georgia. By law, individuals may contribute up to 30,000 lari (about $18,868) and organizations or companies may contribute up to 100,000 lari (about $62,893) to any one campaign's election fund. Political parties, however, are exempt from limits on donations to a sponsored candidate's election fund. Such accounts are available for use upon submission of a written request to the CEC.
Supporters of opposition candidates, however, allege that businesses shy away from financing their campaigns out of fear of an investigation later by the financial police. The ruling United National Movement Party dismisses such allegations.
Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International Georgia will be monitoring abuse of administrative resources during the campaign and the ruling United National Movement Party's campaign spending; the Georgian Young Lawyers Association will monitor spending by all other parties taking part in the campaign.
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TV Spots |
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What are the rules for campaign advertising? How affordable is TV advertising? Is free airtime provided?
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Free advertising is available to political parties that received either at least 4 percent of the vote in the 2004 parliamentary elections or 3 percent of the vote in the 2006 local elections. National privately owned broadcasters are required to provide 90 seconds of free advertising every three hours to such parties. Public broadcasting and community television stations are required to provide 60 seconds of free advertising per hour to each such "qualified" party.
As of early December, Mikheil Saakashvili had begun to run fee-based nationally televised campaign ads. By mid-December, Imedi TV had begun to broadcast paid ads for tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili (the station's founder) which juxtaposed scenes from his speech at the November protests in Tbilisi with footage from the November 7 police crackdown on demonstrators. Labor Party leader Shalva Natelashvili, New Rights Party leader Davit Gamkrelidze and opposition MP Levan Gachechiladze had begun to broadcast ads in television stations' free airtime spots.
Prices for spots during news broadcasts run steep. The cost of a 30-second ad during Kurieri, national broadcaster Rustavi-2's main evening newscast, ranges from $850 to $650, according to Media House, an advertising company that sells spots on both Rustavi-2 and Mze television, a channel owned by Rustavi.
Prices for spots on rival broadcaster Imedi were not immediately available. Imedi newscasts resumed on December 12 after a month-long suspension.
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The Fourth Estate |
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Pro-opposition TV broadcaster Imedi is back on the air, but what steps are being taken to ensure that TV journalists can operate freely and that concerns about ethics are also met?
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That question is only starting to be addressed, and remains a hot topic for debate among Georgian journalists. For now, the bulk of attention is likely to focus on a new television broadcasting monitoring group set up with encouragement from the international community and government. Headed by Polish journalist Adam Michnik, it includes six members drawn from the media, academia, think tanks and, even, show business. The group will present its findings weekly on Georgian Public Broadcasting.
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