Based on an interim pre-election monitoring report prepared by the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, alleged politically motivated dismissals of employees from the public service often occur in the case of Former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia’s team members.
The director of the organization Nino Dolidze named concrete examples while presenting the interim report and noted that similar problems exist in almost all regions.
“For example, in Gori, the employment contract of the financial manager of the Municipal Transport Agency, Kakha Paliashvili, was terminated. In this case, it expired, however, 150 other people worked there, whose terms were also expiring, and their terms have been extended. He supposes that the above is related to the political activities of his brother, Mamuka Paliashvili, who joined the team of Giorgi Gakharia, and was a former member of the city council of the Georgian Dream.
“The mother and aunt of the Samtskhe-Javakheti For Georgia party coordinator, who had been working in the public service for a long time, were fired. They were first summoned to the trustee, then fired, because their son and nephew are supporters of the party. In many cases, this applies to Gakharia’s team, and we explain this by the fact that representatives of other parties are probably no longer working in public services.
“There are many facts in different cities, including Dmanisi, Sachkhere, Poti,” Dolidze said.
Earlier today, the Public Defender’s Office of Georgia said dozens of cases of possible discrimination due to political views have been revealed in various public institutions recently.
The ombudsman reports that the pressure was expressed in direct dismissal or resignation, including in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, municipal services, LEPLs established by various municipalities, NNLEs and other public institutions.
Based on the information available to the Public Defender’s Office at this time, 62 employees were subjected to various forms of pressure. Most of them, in a conversation with the representatives of the Public Defender, confirmed pressure and dismissal, and explained the above by kinship, friendship or good relations with members of the party of former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia. (It should be noted that several of them, despite confirmation of pressure, refrained from giving their consent to the Public Defender’s Office to examine their cases). The mentioned individuals were fired from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, municipal services, non-commercial legal entities as well as legal entities under public law established by various municipalities, and other public institutions.
The above case contains elements of crime under the Criminal Code of Georgia – persecution for political views.
By Ana Dumbadze
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