\u201cGreetings, captains.[\u2026] It is crucial that they keep us posted as they bring in the people that they have on their lists. If we don\u2019t have that information, we might be late to react and that will be the end of us,\u201d says an excerpt from an audio recording by Mr. Beno Gegechkori, a representative of the ruling party\u2019s Election Service of Regional Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou were the captain,\u201d says the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze, to a young woman (Ms. Mariam Tatarashvili).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWas voters\u2019 personal information processed and shared?\u201d \u2013 the Studio Monitori\u2019s reporter, Ms. Tskriala Shermadini asks MP from the Georgian Dream (GD), Ms. Rima Beradze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo, nothing of the kind,\u201d answers Ms. Beradze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Georgian Dream\u2019s secret network for total control of Georgian voters.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe were checking off the names of those, who showed up and then passed this information to the IT group and they typed it in,\u201d answers Ms. Salome Razmadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWho gave you the lists?\u201d \u2013 asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe headquarters,\u201d answers Ms. Salome Razmadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou were instructed to put everyone\u2019s names on the list, regardless of whose supporters they were, correct?\u201d \u2013 asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili a woman on the phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, yes,\u201d answers the woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhose personal details were provided to me?\u201d \u2013 asks Mr. Beno Gegechkori, the representative of the ruling party\u2019s Election Service of Regional Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf the voters, who showed up at the polling stations,\u201d says the Studio Monitori\u2019s reporter, Ms. Tskriala Shermadini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s not true. You are lying,\u201d says Mr. Gegechkori.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is a massive scheme for rigging elections,\u201d says Mr. Sandro Baramidze, the Human Rights and Justice Program Manager at the Transparency International Georgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The GD\u2019s secret network for election control.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Studio Monitori obtained information on Georgian Dream\u2019s secret scheme of voter control that was put into action during October 26 elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A source gave us files from the Chugureti District that show that Georgian Dream had call centers operating in the vicinity of every polling station in the district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is the office of the Georgian Dream\u2019s Chugureti branch. According to the document provided to us by our source, this office was managing all of the so-called call centers that were set up near each voting precinct in the Chugureti District. This office was then feeding to Georgian Dream\u2019s head office updates with full details of voters who showed up at the polling places,\u201d says the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGreeting, friends, captains. You are very good at typing in the data. I\u2019d like to thank you all for your performance because we have no delays whatsoever,\u201d excerpt from the audio recording by Mr. Beno Gegechkori, the representative of the ruling party\u2019s Election Service of Regional Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSet up mostly in private apartments, there were 50 call centers operating in the proximity of polling stations of the Chugureti Election District, which had a total of 41 polling stations. Under the supervision of the captains, two telephone operators and one computer operator worked at every call center,\u201d says the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow we\u2019ll try to get some answers from the call center operators first,\u201d says the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On October 26, the day of parliamentary election, voting precinct 6 was opened in the school of arts located at 29 Nino Chkheidze Street. Just 400 meters away, at 24 Bukhaidze Street, Georgian Dream set up one of its call centers. A nearby resident Salome Razmadze was hired to work as a telephone operator there. Wearing a hidden camera, we went to her home and introduced ourselves as representatives of Georgian Dream\u2019s monitoring service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou were at the call center located at 24 Bukhaidze Street. Ms. Mariam Gulbani was your captain. And you were the telephone operator, correct?\u201d \u2013 asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, quite right,\u201d answers Ms. Salome Razmadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow many people did you communicate with from those working at the polling station? \u2013 asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt the polling station? You mean the responsible persons? I personally had seven individuals. We would call them and then checked off on the list the names of those who had voted. We had their names, surnames, personal numbers and so forth on the list. Then we gave this information to the IT person, who entered the data in,\u201d says Ms. Salome Razmadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd did all go smoothly with the payment? As agreed, the rate was 150.\u201d says the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, it all went fine. We were told that 100 lari was the salary and 50 lari paid to to our phone balance so we could order something in,\u201d says Ms. Salome Razmadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd it was not a bank transfer, right? You were paid cash?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, our captain paid us in cash,\u201d says Ms. Salome Razmadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ms. Salome Razmadze corroborated that her role was to receive information on citizens who came to vote from the Georgian Dream representatives known as responsible persons stationed at the precinct 6. She then gave the voters\u2019 names, surname and personal numbers to the computer operator. The computer operator working at Salome Razmadze\u2019s call center was underage and that\u2019s why we won\u2019t tell you her name and surname. We phoned her posing as representatives of Georgian Dream\u2019s Monitoring Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAna, do you remember the name of the program?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cwww.sheavse.ge as I recall,<\/a>\u201d answers Ana, the computer operator of the call center for voting precinct \u21166.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat information did you enter into it?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe entered personal numbers and, if this person had already voted, I would check her \/him off,\u201d answers Ana, the computer operator of the call center for voting precinct 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn this case, you were instructed to type in everyone regardless of which party they supported, right?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes,\u201d answers Ana, the computer operator of the call center for voting precinct 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDid you have to put on the list everyone who came to this voting precinct?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, yes,\u201d answers Ana, the computer operator of the call center for voting precinct 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou were paid in cash the day before, correct?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, that\u2019s right,\u201d answers Ana, the computer operator of the call center for voting precinct \u21166.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c150 lari, right?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes,\u201d answers Ana, the computer operator of the call center for the precinct 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The document obtained by us says that Ms. Mariam Kartvelishvili worked as a computer operator at the call center assigned to the voting precinct 39 located at 173 Khudadovi Street. She also confirmed that she was typing into a specially developed program details of all citizens, who came to vote, including both Georgian Dream voters and all other citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHello, Mariam. We are calling you from the central office of Georgian Dream\u2019s monitoring service. We have a couple of questions for you about the recent parliamentary elections. We are conducting an internal inquest. You were a member of the call center in the Chugureti District, at the polling station 39 at 173 Khudadovi Street, right?\u201d \u2013 asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili when calling Ms. Mariam Kartvelishvili, who worked at the call center of the Chugureti voting precinct 39.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes,\u201d answers Ms. Mariam Kartvelishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWere you a computer operator? – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes,\u201d answers Ms. Mariam Kartvelishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWere you instructed to record all people who came to vote at your polling station?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, all people who came to our polling station,\u201d answers Ms. Mariam Kartvelishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo matter whose supporters they were?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, no matter whose supporters they were. We just recorded who came to vote. We had to record every case. We did not enter information about which party this or that voter supported. We were not instructed to enter such information,\u201d answers Ms. Mariam Kartvelishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Computer operators entered personal data of voters in e-base www.sheavse.ge<\/a>. This website was accessible only from the computers of the call centers, from specific IP addresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet me explain. Two people were answering calls and when they gave us repeating names and surnames, we typed it in to see if the person with that name had already been check off. Then we checked their age and their birthdates to make sure these were different individuals. This is how we worked,\u201d says Ms. Mzia Balanchivadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHave you also received information about the birthdates from the polling stations?\u201d asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, dear, when we had people with the same names and surnames, this girl, Ani, immediately made a call and asked to give us the dates of birth. So, I recorded ages both in the program and on the lists,\u201d says Ms. Mzia Balanchivadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat program did you use? We had two programs,\u201d says the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI do not remember exactly. I even work in it now,\u201d answers Ms. Mzia Balanchivadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cwww.sheavse.ge was the portal that you logged in, wasn\u2019t it?<\/a>\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, exactly,\u201d answers Ms. Mzia Balanchivadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During this investigation, we interviewed more than 20 individuals involved in the precinct call centers scheme and we collected a lot of evidence that call centers were set up on the election day in the homes of Georgian Dream party activists and employees of the Chugureti District Administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three voting precincts were opened on the election day at Tbilisi\u2019s kindergarten 96, located at 13 Nino Chkheidze Street. Nearby, two Georgian Dream call centers were operating at 26 Nino Chkheidze Street. We found out that the house that accommodated the two call center belongs to an employee of the Chugureti District Administration and Georgian Dream party coordinator, Ms. Marina Maskharashvili. Ms. Maskharashvili also worked as an observer at the voting Precinct 4 of the Chugureti District. Her daughter, Ms. Ketevan Devidze, was the captain of the call center located in their house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Computer operator of the call center confirmed that the call center was located in Ms. Marina Maskharashvili\u2019s house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have visited Ms. Barbare Maisuradze with a hidden camera, introducing ourselves as representatives of the Georgian Dream\u2019s monitoring service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have a couple of questions for you regarding the parliamentary elections. You worked at 26 Nino Chkheidze Street as a computer operator, right?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes. We had a very good captain,\u201d answers Ms. Barbare Maisuradze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDid your captain pay you in cash?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes,\u201d answers Ms. Barbare Maisuradze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After getting confirmations from the call centers’ operators, we decided to talk to the captains, but they were alerted about outsiders inquiring about the call centers, so they didn\u2019t answer our calls. We changed our tactics. When we called, we introduced ourselves as security service officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHello, are you Ms. Marina Maskharashvili?\u201d \u2013 asks the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, it\u2019s me,\u201d answers Ms. Marina Maskharashvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am calling you from the Security Service. I need to warn you about this woman, who is making calls. She appears to be a provocateur. Do not confirm to anyone that there was a call center located in your home,\u201d says the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, yes, yes,\u201d answers Ms.Marina Maskharashvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd if someone calls you, please send me her number and drop me a message in the chat or use another channel of communication,\u201d asks the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI understand,\u201d answers Ms. Marina Maskharashvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll repeat, do not confirm this information to anyone,\u201d says the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI understand,\u201d answers Ms. Marina Maskharashvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After Ms. Marina Maskharashvili confirmed to that there was indeed a call center at her house, we visited her as journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOn October 26, election day, there was a call center functioning in your house and you were also an observer at the polling stations 4 and 6, weren\u2019t you?\u201d \u2013 asks the reporter, Ms. Tskriala Shermadini an employee of the Local Administrative Body of Chugureti District, Ms. Maskharashvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat does a call center mean?\u201d \u2013 asks Ms. Marina Maskharashvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have a list from the Chugureti District that shows that personal information of all voters was supplied from the polling stations to the call centers and that you were stationed at the polling station 4 and 6,\u201d says the reporter, Ms. Tskriala Shermadini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cExcuse me, but you are deeply misled. What call center are you talking about? Nothing of what you said happened. In general, I am a supporter of the Georgian Dream and I work at the Chugureti District Administration. I guess I have the right do it, don\u2019t I?\u201d\u2013 asks Ms. Maskharashvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, of course,\u201d answers the reporter, Ms. Tskriala Shermadini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo, I have the right to work at the Chugureti District Administration and be a representative and supporter of the Georgian Dream political party, right? There was no call center here,\u201d says Ms. Maskharashvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere was no collecting and processing of personal information?\u201d \u2013 asks the reporter, Ms. Tskriala Shermadini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, nothing like that happened,\u201d says Ms. Maskharashvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIs Ms. Keti Devidze your daughter?\u201d – asks the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, Keti Devidze is my daughter,\u201d answers Ms. Maskharashvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMs. Keti Devidze in this call center\u2026,\u201d says the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze and is interrupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPlease, can I tell you the something?\u201d \u2013 asks Ms. Maskharashvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, of course,\u201d answers the reporter, Ms. Tskriala Shermadini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo offense, but you are very much mistaken. And I feel sorry for you because you\u2019ve been tasked by someone to dig up something,\u201d says Ms. Maskharashvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have not been tasked by anyone,\u201d answers the reporter, Ms. Tskriala Shermadini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPerhaps, I understand. Georgian Dream rightfully won this election. Let\u2019s make the most of it,\u201d says Ms. Maskharashvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ms. Mariam Tatarashvili supervised the call center located at 1 Gumati Street and tied to the voting precinct 41, which was located in the kindergarten 10 at 21 P. Saakadze Street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are calling to speak to Ms. Mariam Tatarashvili, who was the captain of the call center assigned to the voting precinct number 41. Good day, Mariam. We are calling you from the central office of the party on behalf of Mr. Giorgi. We were tasked to ask call center captains about positive and negative aspects of their experience with the call centers,\u201d says the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think it is a mistake. I was neither a captain, nor a leader anywhere. I voted on October 26 and then left the city so I was not able to be at any precinct or something like that,\u201d answers Ms. Mariam Tatarashvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A couple of minutes later, we called Ms. Mariam Tatarashvili as security service representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHello, Mariam. I am calling you for the Security Service. I\u2019ll be short. Please, listen to me carefully. We were told that someone is making calls to get information about call centers. So if someone calls it, deny it. Has anyone called you already?\u201d \u2013 asks the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, they have,\u201d answers Ms. Mariam Tatarashvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou were warned before that you should not say anything about the call centers to anyone,\u201d says the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes and I haven\u2019t said anything about this to anyone,\u201d answers Ms. Mariam Tatarashvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGood. And will you cooperate with us in the future, if needed?\u201d – asks the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf it is going to involve some people calling me like this and asking questions, then no. While we are at it, I wanted to say that the entire file with our personal information, including our personal numbers, was shared in the chat room. Who is going to be held responsible for the fact that our personal information was leaked?\u201d- asks Ms. Mariam Tatarashvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After this, we visited Ms. Mariam Tatarashvili, who supervised the process of collecting and forwarding personal information of hundreds of voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMariam, don\u2019t you think that by processing personal information of our citizens, you violated the law?\u201d – asks the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI didn\u2019t process any personal data, I was not in the city,\u201d answers Ms. Mariam Tatarashvili, the captain of the GD\u2019s election call center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIs not this your voice?\u201d – asks the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, it is my voice. You\u2019ve obtained this information by deception and this information is not true,\u201d says Ms. Mariam Tatarashvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the course of our investigation, we found in the list of people connected to the call centers not only supporters of the ruling party, but also a chairperson of the precinct election commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A call center linked to Chugureti District\u2019s polling station 7, which was located at 8 Chikobava Street, was set up in an apartment registered in the name of Ms. Lela Kartvelishvili, the chairwoman of the election commission of precinct 3 of the Chugureti District.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mobile operator Ms. Ana Skhirtladze corroborated to us that a call center was indeed stationed at this address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDid you work as a mobile operator at Georgian Dream\u2019s election call center?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd who is this?\u201d \u2013 asks Ms. Ana Skhirtladze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou worked as mobile operator at the call center of the Chugureti precinct 7,\u201d says the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, but who is your superior?\u201d – asks Ms. Ana Skhirtladze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis office was located at 8 Chikobava Street and your captain was Ms. Nino Mamamtavrishvili,\u201d- says the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, but, you know that I can\u2019t elaborate on the details,\u201d answers Ms. Ana Skhirtladze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have a list showing that Georgian Dream\u2019s call center was operating on October 26 at your address, 8 Chikobava Street,\u201d says the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili to Ms. Lela Kartvelishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd then?\u201d \u2013 asks Ms. Lela Kartvelishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo you confirm this information?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo,\u201d answers Ms. Lela Kartvelishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou were a member of the commission,\u201d says the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am at work right now,\u201d says Ms. Lela Kartvelishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou were appointed by the district as a commission chairperson. Was not it a conflict of interest to lend your apartment to Georgian Dream\u2019s call center?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ms. Lela Kartvelishvili disconnects the phone call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ———————–<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCan you unfold this sheet of paper for me?\u201d \u2013 asks the female journalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy would I do that? Am I doing something wrong?\u201d \u2013 answers the woman wearing glasses at the voting precinct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think you have some kind of a list and you are writing things down there,\u201d asks the female journalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, I have a list and I\u2019m making some notes for myself,\u201d answers the woman wearing glasses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After studying information leaked from the call centers and the videos taken on election day, we saw that polling stations served as the first link in the mass control and count of voters. The so-called responsible persons, who formally served as observers, incessantly fed to the call centers information on citizens who showed up to vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat sort of personal details you could see when you wrote the information in?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili a woman on the phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOnly name, surname, unique code and who was the responsible oerson for this citizen,\u201d answers a woman on the phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd who was the responsible person at your voting precinct?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMs. Tatuli Khvedelidze,\u201d answers the woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ——————–<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJust like you, I have the right to observe the elections from any place within the polling station,\u201d says the female observer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCan\u2019t you observe the process from the front?\u201d \u2013 asks Ms. Eka Shekhiladze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ms. Tatuli Khvedelidze was registered as an observer at the polling station 23 and so was her mother, Ms. Eka Shekhiladze. Ms. Shekhiladze works for the Chugureti District Administration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The video shows her preventing another observer from monitoring the process of identification of voters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA member of the call center network confirmed to us that you were recording personal details of voters as they showed up the precinct throughout the day and were supplied this information to the call centers. You were involved in illegal activities and network. Why?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn what network?\u201d \u2013 asks Ms. Tatuli Khvedelidze, the GD\u2019s Responsible Person of the voting precinct \u2116 23 at the Chugureti District.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou and your family are affiliated with Georgian Dream. Your mother is an employee of the Chugureti District Administration. And you have close relations with [Georgian Dream lawmaker] Ms. Rima Beradze\u2019s family. Was it Ms. Rima Beradze who got you involved in this illegal activity?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo you believe yourself the things that you are saying?\u201d – asks Ms. Tatuli Khvedelidze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, because we have proof,\u201d answers the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cReally?\u201d \u2013 asks Ms. Tatuli Khvedelidze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll day long, we were at the voting precinct 23..,\u201dsays the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou are telling to me about some sort of call center. You came to me with some sort of fake information and you are trying to force it on me,\u201d says Ms. Tatuli Khvedelidze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDid Ms. Rima Beradze instruct you to do this?\u201d – asks the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ————————-<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recording of all voters voter as they showed up at the polls happened in a systematic manner and the observers made plenty of video evidence to proof it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou are committing a criminal offense\u201d, says female voice in the video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cArrest me,\u201d says another woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am not the one to arrest you. We\u2019ll report to the relevant agencies that you are committing a criminal offense,\u201d says the same woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvict this woman from the precinct immediately. I will write a complaint at once\u201d, says the same woman, who was out of camera lenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe was ticking off on the list who come and who didn\u2019t. Just look at this list! It contains addresses, names of responsible persons, phone numbers,\u201d says a man, a participant of the election process at this voting precinct, who took this list from that woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) has been monitoring elections for years and has studied various methods of electoral fraud practiced in different countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf we follow the logic of it, then the purpose to pressure voters to show up at the polls and to keep track of voting results at the precinct. On top of this, you can you this to influence election results. For example, if you see that you are short on supporters in one place, you can mobilize more voters there. It can be used for other types of manipulation and we\u2019ve seen quite a bit of it. We\u2019ve had cases of multiple voting, voter impersonation, failure to check election ink properly, which may be a sign of \u201ccarousel voting.\u201d All of this gives us grounds to believe that this [compiling of voter information] was used to help employ additional mechanisms for achieving desired results,\u201d says Ms. Nino Dolidze, the Executive Director of the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve found out that the call center workers were trained in advance by the ruling party. They were handled by the so-called captains. For the most part, the call centers were set up in the apartments of the ruling party activists and employees the Chugureti District Administration or on the premises of public institutions. They were set up in a very close proximity of polling stations, about 200-250 meters away,\u201d says the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe also found that one or two call centers were tied to each polling station. All call center operators received cash payments of 150 lari the day before, on October 25. All call center staffers were in contact with the responsible persons deployed at the polling stations and received from them personal information of every single voter,\u201d says the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne of each call center employee then logged this information into www.sheavse.ge<\/a>, a portal designed specifically for this election. Data from all over the nation was consolidated in this portal and Georgian Dream\u2019s campaign office had access to it,\u201d says the reporter, Ms. Nino Ramishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe also found proof that this scheme was put in action in other regions and not just in Tbilisi. For example, in Akhmeta, a homeowner confirmed that a call center was functioning at his home,\u201d says the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHello, is this Ms. Nato Datukishvili?\u201d \u2013 asks the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHello, yes, it\u2019s me,\u201d answers Ms. Nato Datukishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDid everything go smoothly?\u201d – asks the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, everything went well. I\u2019ve spent a lot of time at the precinct,\u201d answers Ms. Nato Datukishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat was your specific role?\u201d – asks the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was a campaigner along with other things,\u201d answers Ms. Nato Datukishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd you had no trouble sending the information over?\u201d – asks the reporter, Mr. Zura Modebadze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, it was based in my apartment. They were my friends. But I was over at the precinct, doing my part of the job. I\u2019ve encountered no trouble whatsoever,\u201d answers Ms. Nato Datukishvili.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve also got an audio recording proving that the call centers were administered from the Georgian Dreams campaign headquarters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPlease, drop this message in every chat room. Share the voice message that I\u2019m going to send in all the chats. Greeting, friends, captains. We see that we have problem with the slower pace of information transfer from the responsible persons. You are doing a very good job logging the information and thank you very much for this because we have no delays anywhere. Now, in about 10 minutes, I want you to call again all the responsible persons and explain to them that it is imperative that they update us on the rate of bringing citizens from lists to the polls because we are in a blind spot now. We are about 30% behind. Without this information, we may make a mistake, be late to react and fail. To avoid this, we need each of them to provide information very responsibly. Be sure to explain to each responsible person that the information they provide is crucial, and not just at every top of the hour, but constantly. That\u2019s why, I ask you to forward on this voice message immediately,\u201d excerpt from the audio recording of Mr. Beno Gegechkori, the representative of the ruling party\u2019s Election Service of Regional Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The person, who is asking the captain to forward on this audio message, is Mr. Beno Gegechkori, a regional representative of the ruling party\u2019s campaign team,\u201d says the reporter, Ms. Tskriala Shermadini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In another video recording that we\u2019ve obtained, he talks about financing the call centers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll have the funds tomorrow and will deliver it to the headquarters to distribute among the call centers\u2019 employees. They deserve their honoraria and even more. But we have what we have at the moment,\u201d excerpt from the audio recording of Mr. Beno Gegechkori, the representative of the ruling party\u2019s Election Service of Regional Department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHello, Mr. Beno. I am calling you from Studio Monitori. I have a couple of questions for you. We have the audio messages that you\u2019ve sent to call center captains. You\u2019ve organized call centers on election day that illegally processed personal information of voters,\u201d says the reporter, Ms. Tskriala Shermadini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry, what did they do illegally?\u201d \u2013 asks Mr. Beno Gegechkori.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cProcess personal information,\u201d answers the reporter, Ms. Tskriala Shermadini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat kind of personal information?\u201d – asks Mr. Beno Gegechkori.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs far as we know, they recorded personal data of all voters from all precincts and send them on to you,\u201d says the reporter, Ms. Tskriala Shermadini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhose personal data they sent to me?\u201d \u2013 asks Mr. Beno Gegechkori.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf all voters, who came to the polls,\u201d answers the reporter, Ms. Tskriala Shermadini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou are lying. Not of all voters. It\u2019s not true. Have you fact-checked this information?\u201d – asks Mr. Beno Gegechkori.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, of course\u201d, says the reporter, Ms. Tskriala Shermadini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen you were given wrong information. We made records of our supporters\u2019 turnout at the polls. And you can\u2019t show me any legislation, be foreign or Georgian, electoral or criminal, or legislation on personal information. No law says that it is illegal to to mobilize our supporters,\u201d says Mr. Beno Gegechkori.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe operators, who were logging data on www.sheavse.ge portal, confirmed to us that they were collecting information of all the voters, not only of Georgian Dream supporters. The people you hired said that,\u201d says Ms. Tskriala Shermadini, the reporter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s not true, Tskriala,\u201d answers Mr. Beno Gegechkori.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou paid salaries in cash. Where did the money come from?\u201d \u2013 asks the reporter, Ms. Tskriala Shermadini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo once you saw that one claim was false and libelous, you are now switching from one carefully concocted story to another?\u201d \u2013 asks Mr. Beno Gegechkori.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLots of people confirmed this to us, the people you hired and paid\u201d, says the reporter, Ms. Tskriala Shermadini.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is utter nonsense, entirely false,\u201d says Mr. Beno Gegechkori.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you see, Mr. Beno Gegechkori didn\u2019t answer our question about how the ruling party cash to the employees of the call centers salaries. We\u2019ll try to get more information on this from the ruling party member, Ms. Rima Beradze, who was in charge of the Chugureti branch of the ruling party\u2019s campaign operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, no, you have wrong information,\u201d says Ms. Rima Beradze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n