- According to the published material of the “iFact” investigative journalists, “Georgian Dream” actively uses municipalities’ budgets funds for organising various cultural events in the pre-election period, which, in fact, constitutes secret election campaigning.
- For such events, municipalities announced a total of 219 tenders for various events, for which a total of 7.8 million GEL was spent;
- In the period of August 1 to October 1, a total of 67 events were planned and held, half of which were dedicated to celebrating the day of the city or town;
- The dates for some of these holidays were changed and they are celebrated right before the elections, moreover, some new ones were also invented;
- The election messages of the ruling party are actively heard on these events, especially on the topic of “peace”;
- Funds spent on events have increased significantly, compared to previous years;
- 88% of the procurements are done through a simplified procurement, without contest;
The investigation of the “iFact” once again confirms that the use of administrative resources in favour of the ruling party has a systemic nature, which, in turn, creates the basis for an unfair and unequal pre-election environment. The tendencies described in the investigation are further confirmed by the cases described throughout this Live Blog as well, which documents the occasions where state/local budget funds were used to finance the events used for the agitation of the “Georgian Dream” candidates.
