Presidential Elections Not Held in Tusheti
Georgian presidential elections are being held in Georgia today on October 28– the seventh presidential elections since the country's restoration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The whole country is participating – except in the northeastern region of Tusheti, where presidential elections are not held.
People living in the villages of Tusheti, including border guards, will not be able to participate in the elections this year. The news was announced by the Mtisambebi.ge. Mindia Yukuridze, Chairman of Akhmeta DEC, informed them that the Roads Department of Georgia has officially prohibited traffic movement on the road connecting Tusheti to the rest of the country, and a helicopter could not be allocated to deliver a special ballot box.
“We have opened Tusheti polling station #14 in the village of Kvemo Alvani, where 265 voters are registered. In the same district we have a special list of 24 Border Police officers and only four voters from Tusheti residents requested us to use the mobile box. Because the motorway road is closed down and we do not have the opportunity to rent a helicopter, that’s why we can’t run the elections in Tusheti, said Yukuridze. Yurikidze has been heading the Akhmeta DEC since 2010 and has not opened a polling station in Tusheti for the last 8 years.
With the help of the Border Police helicopter, a mobile ballot box was obtained in Pirikita Khevsureti, in the Arkhoti Gorge. According to Goderdzi Chincharauli, chairperson of the 42nd DEC of Gudani, 180 voters are registered in the main voter list at the Gudani precinct, and in the special list, 40 border guards on the Chimga, Terga and Tanie border sectors.
The road is blocked due to snow on Arkhoti Pass. Last year the situation was the same, but a mobile ballot box was delivered. A polling station was opened in Shatili, though it is freezing over night at Datvijvari mountain pass and there may be some problems when moving the summary ballot-boxes to the voters.
By Mariam Merabishvili
Photo: TravelinGeorgia