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07.02.2008

SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS ON JANUARY 5, 2008 IN GEORGIA: A VIEW FROM JAVAKHQ

   

Sergey Minasyan

elections in Georgia (medium) On January 5, 2008 over the whole territory of Georgia were held presidential elections. According to the Georgian Central Election Committee in the first round the ex-president (from January 2004 to November 2007) M.Sahakashvili was ahead in the palls getting for about 53% of votes. At that, though the results of the elections were estimated to be quite positive (though politically motivated) by international and European observers, they were immediately protested by the representatives of the Georgian opposition. At the very second day after the elections in Tbilisi and some regions of the country began mass actions of protest and rallies of the representatives of the united opposition denouncing the authorities in mass falsification of the election results of January 5, 2008.

At that, it is worth mentioning the fact that in the capital won the leader of the united opposition Levan Gachechiladze and most of the votes Sahakashvili got on the account of results in different regions of the country, as well as in Samckhe-Javakheti and Kvemo Kartly densely populated with Armenians and Azerbaijanis. However, how can be explained the fact that the ethnic minorities of Georgia, who were complaining of intensified discrimination and toughened economic and political pressure by the side of the new Georgian authorities during the whole period of M. Sahakashvily’s presidency, showed quite a striking support giving him the overwhelming majority of votes?!

It is quite natural and logical first of all taking into consideration the fact that in connection with political tension in Tbilisi and considerably more obvious protesting moods in the capital, the ruling authorities had a good chance to carry out falsification in different districts of the country, especially in the districts densely populated with ethnic minorities, such as the Armenian inhabited Samckhe-Javakheti of Azerbaijani populated Kvemo Kartly.

At the same time it should be taken into consideration that the Armenian and Azerbaijani ethnic minorities of Georgia almost haven’t taken part in the social-political life of the country during the whole post-Soviet period and the overwhelming majority of them don’t even know Georgian at all and are almost not presented in the country’s political elite. At the same time they often become subject of discrimination on the national basis, and in the authoritative bodies are presented as few as possible, they feel their “uselessness” and antagonism by the side of authorities or a certain part of Georgian society. As a result, the attitude to the past February 5 elections in the Armenian populated district Samckhe-Javakheti (as well as the Azerbaijani populated Kvemo Kartly) was more then passive and indifferent.

Only in connection with this and making use of the indifferent attitude of local Armenians to elections the authorities were able to make maximum use of administrative resources in Javakhk in favor of M. Sahakashvili. Besides, the moods of Armenian population were influenced by the fact that in the election campaign in Javakhq, held in favor of M. Sahakashvili, were also participating “emissaries” from Yerevan and Moscow representing definite circles of Javakhk “Diaspora”, which have close political and economic contacts with the current Georgian authorities.

It is significant that in reality minimum number of electors took part in the elections in Javakhk – probably not more than 15-20%. At that, according to the eye-witnesses, most of the real electors voted against M. Sahakashvili and in favor of the opposition candidates Levan Gachechiladze or Badri Patrakatsishvili. However, the election results were not important any more, as all the results of people who participated in the elections and voted for M. Sahakashvili were just “drawn” by the local election committees without any calculation in the evening of January 5, a few hours after the polling districts were closed. The election committee of Ninotsminda announced that more then 90% took part in the elections 92% out of which voted for M. Sahakashvili. In the region of Akhalkalak one could see analogical results and analogical figures.

Because of passivity of the Armenian electors under the threat of repression by the side of Georgian authorities, such obvious falsifications did not cause any actions of protest in Javakhk except hidden and not public complains. The main local social-political organization were either quite neutral during the whole period of elections (for example, the Council of Social-Political Organizations in Samckhe-Javakheti) or supported M. Sahakashvili, but some of them (“Virk”) promised to support the opposition candidate L. Gachechiladze, but made no practical steps in this direction.

The above mentioned situation is quite natural under such conditions when the ethnic minorities of Georgia permanently remain out of Georgian sociums, when no current Georgian party is politically actual or essential for them, and the present prohibition of registering in any of regional political parties deprives the local population of the chance to realize its constitutional rights in the process of decision making and creation of equal capability to take part in elections or participate in the governing of their country.

That’s why low activity of the Armenian population during the February 5 presidential elections and absence of any reaction to all the obvious facts of falsification of election results by the side of authorities should not surprise anybody. In Javakhk the local population has always voted for the ruling authorities in all the previous presidential elections by means of falsification – should it be Zviad Gamsakhurdia in 1990-1991, Eduard Shevardnadze and the “Union of Citizens of Georgian” up till 2003, or M. Sahakashvili and “United National Movement” after the “Revolution of Roses.”

As the well known Georgian political scientist Gia Nodia has mentioned, in spite of the fact that Armenian and Azerbaijani minorities of Georgia are inhabited in the territories adjoining to their “ethnic native lands,” the main regional “problem is not in ethnic separatism or irredentism.” Although some Georgians suspect the community of minorities in secret national aspirations, the latter ones did not make any separative demands and didn’t organize irredentistic movements. The only matter of concern is the lack of social-political integration of these minorities and low level of their religious participation in the developing democratic institutions of Georgia”1.

Many Georgian experts and politicians have just realized that it has been already quite a long period of time that the considerable part of Georgia’s population (not less than 16-17% of the total number of population), in the form of representatives of ethnic minorities, doesn’t consider the Georgian existing parties or opposition movements to be the mechanism of their participation in this country’s social-political life.

1Nodia G., Scholtbach A.PThe Political Landscape of Georgia. Political Parties: Achievement, Challenges and Prospects. IMD, ODIHR, CIPDD: Eburon Delft, 2006. P.72.


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