Ruling Party Attacks Georgian Dream Over Code Of Conduct In TV Ad
By Civil.Ge
(Civil.Ge) — Georgia’s ruling party, United National Movement (UNM), launched from July 31 television advertisement targeting Bidzina Ivanishvili-led Georgian Dream opposition coalition’s reluctance to join political parties’ code of conduct offered by UNM.
A male voiceover in the 39-second TV ad says: “We reject vote-buying and use of administrative resources; we reject election-related violence. Only one party – Georgian Dream – has rejected this rule. Why? What are they planning?”
Apart of these points, mentioned in the TV ad, the ruling party-offered declaration calls on the political parties to undertake commitment “to recognize election results summarized by the Central Election Commission and deemed legitimate by observer organizations with credible reputation” – that’s the key point which turned into a major source of controversy about the document.
The Georgian Dream has instead put forth a different wording offering parties to take commitment to resolve “all the disputed issues about election results solely through peaceful and constitutional way.”
The ruling UNM party proposed four-point code of conduct for political parties on July 14; the Georgian Dream responded that UNM’s proposal was an attempt to hijack the process of development of the text, saying that it was in fact the initiative of civil society groups. On July 16 a coalition of election observer groups and media organizations, This Affects You Too, said the ruling party-proposed text was “not sufficient and enough for the genuine recovery” of the electoral process and tabled seventeen-point declaration, which was also addressing executive authorities. On July 18 the ruling party accepted the proposal and offered other political parties to combine its four-point declaration with those principles tabled by This Affects You Too coalition.
