MPs explain reasons behind law changes

Ruling United National Movement (UNM) member Goka Gabashvili answered the media’s questions at the Prime Time press conference on Monday. Reviewing the political situation in Russia Gabashvili said the opposition protests aimed at removing the authoritarian regime from power there have been some of the largest in the history of independent Russia. Supposing that the so-called “Arab Spring” is approaching the Russian Government, the ruling party MP spoke of possible cooperation between Georgian businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili and the current Russian authorities.

Gabashvili theorized that the 2012 parliamentary elections in Georgia won’t be simple as the pro-Russian powers will unite around Ivanishvili. Talking of Ivanishvili’s “political messages” about regulating the Georgian-Russian post-war climate, Gabashvili spoke of Ivanishvili’s team as “an old post-soviet machine” which would fail in satisfying the interests of the young democratic state even with a lot of money.

Emphasizing the importance of the changes in the electoral code Gabashvili explained that the code fully complies with world standards. “I don’t see the need for additional explanations,” said the MP, stressing that the changes in the rules about sponsoring political parties are being done under fair rules of the game on behalf of ordinary people. Agreeing with the idea that any political party needs financial resources Gabashvili stressed that money should not become the only deciding factor winning votes at election time.

As the parliamentary majority claimed, incidence of voter bribery in Georgia has increased in recent times thus the new legislation is necessary to prevent “the oligarch” Ivanishvili from achieving his goals with money. “We used to have people before, who used to try to bribe voters, but they failed... People still voted for those who would act in the interests of the country,” said UNM MP Petre Tsiskarishvili, confident that the legislative changes would protect each and every vote and prove that “Georgian society can’t be sold” in the democratic country.

The Government decided to establish financial restrictions for political parties in November 2011, they say based on international recommendations, but opposition parties, NGOs and the civil sector suppose that this step was directly as a result of the entrance of Bidzina Ivanishvili to the Georgian political arena. Restrictions are now being imposed on legal entities as these entities can influence voters through representatives or by some other figures to support or not support a political subject. The sanctions consider either financial fines for violations or imprisonment for both sides: the political entities and the ordinary people.

The majority of opposition parties worry that connections with the electorate and political parties would be lost. Guram Chakhvadze,MP from the National Democratic Party said that corruption doesn’t only consist of bribing voters, but also consists of the misuse of administrative resources. Opposition representatives claim that the Government is constantly violating the law by distributing various things to people every day. “We are doing everything for political reasons... I think we all - opposition and government - would have to be detained after the adoption of the draft law,” said Christian-Democratic Movement’s Levan Vepkhvadze claiming that the “black money” is in government hands, not at the opposition’s disposal. MP Jondi Bagaturia thinks that the introduction of the legal restrictions were because of the Government’s “fear of losing power”. Accusing the authorities of bribing people with vouchers and other prizes Bagaturia said that government officials would use the legal changes to “blackmail the opposition”.