"Transparency International - Georgia" calls on the Minister of Internal Affairs to "immediately change his order and cancel the participation of the representative of the Department of Special Tasks, Zviad Kharazishvili ("Khareba") in the so-called "territorial groups", as well as the authority of the police forces to receive e.g. "Preventive measures" against voters gathered peacefully at polling stations.

The organization publishes a statement about this and explains that the inclusion of US-sanctioned Kharazishvili in the processes related to the elections is not allowed.

According to the organization's assessment, it is alarming that the Minister of Internal Affairs Zviad Kharazishvili has not only not been dismissed from his position, but has also been entrusted with the function of the de facto supervisor of election-related processes.

According to the decision of the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia - Vakhtang Gomelauri, Zviad Kharazishvili, the same "Khareba" will be involved in the process related to the elections.

On September 30, 2024, the Minister of Internal Affairs issued an order "to implement some measures to ensure the conduct of the elections of the Parliament of Georgia on October 26, 2024 in a free, safe and peaceful environment. According to the mentioned order, in the regions of Georgia and Tbilisi, "groups responsible for the prevention of law violations and their response" - the so-called "Territorial groups".

Similar acts were issued by the Minister of Internal Affairs during the previous general elections. However, this time the novelty is that, unlike in 2016 and 2020, the territorial groups include, among others, not the head of the appropriate territorial unit of the Ministry's Special Tasks Department, as before, but a representative assigned by the head of the Ministry's Special Tasks Department. Zviad Kharazishvili, who has been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department for serious human rights violations, and who is known for his brutality towards political opponents and participants of protest actions, holds the position of the head of the mentioned department.

It is alarming that the Minister of Internal Affairs Z. Kharazishvili has not been dismissed from his post, but he has been assigned the function of de-facto supervisor of election-related processes. In this regard, the norm of the first paragraph of Article 6 of the annex to the above-mentioned order of the Minister is also alarming, according to which the police forces can implement "preventive and crime response measures", including "in case of a flow of people in the vicinity of the polling station", which means that "Khareba" and the "territorial groups" created with its participation can come into action even if people are gathered near the polling stations, even peacefully. This provision of the Minister's order not only does not have any legal basis, but it directly contradicts the freedom of assembly enshrined in the Constitution of Georgia and international human rights law.

We call on the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia to immediately change his order and cancel the participation of the representative of the head of the Department of Special Tasks in the so-called in "territorial groups", the authority of the police forces to receive the so-called "Preventive measures" against the voters who gathered peacefully at the polling stations," the statement said.