Mikheil Saakashvili, ruling party presidential hopeful, is misusing state resources in his re-election campaign, according to a preliminary report presented on December 5 by the NGO Transparency International Georgia.

“Though not always illegal, misusing state resources provides an unfair advantage to incumbent candidates, reducing the likelihood of fair and free elections,” the report states.

Analyzing democratic conditions in the run-up to the elections since November 8—when snap presidential elections were called the day after mass unrest in Tbilisi—the report focuses on the ruling party and its candidate.

Since announcing early elections, the government has introduced a number of social initiatives, including pensions increases, salary rises and medical insurance for teachers, and an employment program that launched yesterday.

“In the light of the large portion of the population below the poverty line, these apparently ‘good’ initiatives have been mentioned in our report because they were announced in the run-up to elections,” executive director Tamuna Karosanidze said at the presentation yesterday.

Karosanidze criticized the government’s distribution of utilities vouchers and firewood packages under the labels of “president’s gift” and “president’s subsidy” respectively.

“The problem with these initiatives is that they were not envisaged in the 2007 state budget or the 2008 draft budget,” Karosanidze stated.

The report cited numerous examples to illustrate the point, including teacher protests demanding pay rises earlier this year, which met a flat government refusal because of a “lack of budget resources,” a Transparency International representative said.

Criticism has also been leveled at the government regarding Saakashvili’s “instructions” to Refugees Minister Koba Subeliani and Tbilisi City Mayor Gigi Ugulava to hand over state-owned property to IDPs during an election campaign speech on November 28. According to the election code, government ministers are forbidden from assisting in a presidential campaign in performing their professional duties.

On December 4, the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association formally addressed the Central Election Committee on this issue, demanding GEL 2 000 fines be imposed on Subeliani and Ugulava for violating the election code.

However, government officials dismissed these complaints the same day. Levan Bezhashvili, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Legal Issues, told Mze TV that the election code provision on this matter does not apply to “political public officials” such as ministers or mayors.

The preliminary report also listed a number of other issues of concern, including reports of political intimidation in the regions, as well as claims that “public officials are announcing that voting will not be confidential.”

Founded in 2000, Transparency International Georgia is committed to combating corruption through the promotion of transparency and accountability. A full report on the election will published after votes are cast on January 5.