Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been mobilized near the Tbilisi Court of Appeal, where a protest is taking place today in parallel with the consideration of election disputes. The courthouse gate is locked, and a police cordon has been established. Ana Dolidze, one of the leaders of Strong Georgia, was not allowed entry to attend the trial.
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"Little by little, we have distinguished ourselves in the Russian Federation. As per the Georgian Constitution, such court proceedings should be public. The case cannot be taken away from the judge. As you can see, everything has changed - these pages have been torn out of this constitution, and this is very dangerous. I have seen these processes before. All of this should be left in the past, and we should have a free court here. I used to come here during the Girgvliani trials, and it was just like this," said Ana Dolidze.
"What happened in the fraud cases is illegal because the cases were removed from the judges and given to one judge - the most reliable and wise, who is likely to overturn all notable decisions, including the one from the Tetritskaro court, which confirmed that the secrecy of the elections - a fundamental constitutional right - was violated. This was done to prevent us from making a free choice," Dolidze added.
Nazi Janezashvili, head of the non-governmental organization Court Watch, commented, "The Chairman of the Tbilisi Court of Appeal, Mikheil Chinchaladze, has more power than the Constitution of Georgia. He allowed himself to close the gates of the court. Only the parties and media are permitted inside, while monitoring organizations overseeing the proceedings are not. This is unacceptable, as the constitution mandates that justice in Georgia should be administered openly and transparently. They are violating the constitution," said Janezashvili.
The Court of Appeal's consideration of election disputes is set to begin at 12:00. Judge Iolona Todua will hear the "fair elections" cases, which concern the district election commissions of Gori, Chugureti, and Krtsanisi. According to Khatia Tsetskhladze, a lawyer for the organization, they are demanding a recount of the invalid ballots for the cases of Gori, Chughureti, and Krtsanisi.
At 14:00, the Court of Appeal will review appeals filed by the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association against the District Election Commissions in Eastern Georgia. The organization demands the annulment of results in all districts where elections were conducted with technology.
In contrast, the Central Election Commission is appealing a decision by Tetritskaro district court judge Vladimer Khuchua, seeking its reversal. On November 4, Judge Khuchua, in a precedent-setting decision unlike those from other district courts, confirmed the violation of vote secrecy and declared the electronic results of 30 election precincts in Tetritskaro and Tsalka invalid. During the court session, a technical inspection was conducted, which involved a counting machine, a ballot, a marker, and a framed envelope, revealing that the choice made when inserting ballots into the machine was visible.
