ISFED responds to the statement of the Minister of Defense of Georgia, Ms. Tina Khidasheli saying that NGOs have never addressed the Ministry of Defense about the issue of special electoral precincts. 

In particular, Ms. Khidasheli stated: “... none of the non-governmental organizations have approached me or any relevant official with questions about the issue [of special electoral precincts set up at military units] that they are now asking questions about.” 

The above statement of the Minister of Defense is not true. 

On January 14, 2016, ISFED requested public information from the Ministry of Defense of Georgia about legal documents certifying the term of service of military workers, based on which the so-called special electoral precinct was established in Vaziani Military Base. 

The Ministry of Defense responded to our written request on January 26 and refused to provide the information, stating that documents certifying the term of service of military workers (their contracts) contained personal data. 

The fact that NGOs have requested public information about the special precinct set up in Vaziani Military Base is further confirmed by the statement made by Deputy Minister of Defense Besik Loladze during visit of NGOs at the military base. 

In addition, we would like to remind Ms. Khidasheli that NGOs have actively expressed their comments and suggestions about elections in general and special precincts in particular within the inter-agency commission for free and fair elections, members of which include representatives of the Ministry of Defense.  

In light of the foregoing, we urge the Minister of Defense to show more courtesy in her statements about NGOs and not to make any inaccurate public remarks about our activities.