03 June 2010, 21:40
Beseliya: Georgian prisoners were deprived of their right to vote
Eka Beseliya, leader of the Public Movement "Solidarity with Illegal Prisoners", demanded explanations in the Ombudsman's office from the Probation Ministry about organization of voting at local elections of pre-trial detainees.
According to the Georgian legislation, detainees possess, before the trial, the constitutional right to vote and should have taken part in local elections on May 30.
Ms Beseliya referred to conclusions of the NGOs, which monitored special polling stations at correction establishments, and noted that the pre-trial detainees were not admitted to vote, although nine special polling stations were opened in SIZOs (pre-trial prisons).
Earlier, the NGO "International Transparency - Georgia", which monitored the SIZOs, reported that out of 1184 detainees kept in five SIZOs only one voter could cast his ballot, while all the others could not do it because they had no identification documents.
So far, the Ministry of Probation and Legal Aid made no comments on Ms Beseliya's statements, as the IA "News-Georgia" reports.
The "Caucasian Knot" reported that according to the Central Electoral Commission of Georgia, the ruling party "United National Movement" was the winner at local elections with over 65 percent of votes under the proportional system of local governments in the regions of the country. The official results of the elections will be announced on June 23 after rechecking of all the received complaints.
