By Georg Neumann

TI Georgia has summarised findings to date into two interim reports, which cover the periods of 8 November to 4 December and 5 December to 26 December. The major alleged problems identified include: the introduction of a number of unplanned social initiatives shortly before the elections by the ruling party, including increased pensions, increased salaries for teachers, and one-time vouchers for socially vulnerable groups; the initiation of a number of legislative initiatives that directly contradicted earlier stances, e.g. abolishing cash registers, giving amnesty for property disputes and releasing prisoners convicted of petty crimes; the active participation of public officials in the ruling party’s campaign with blurred distinctions between official and party activities; and the intimidation of opposition party supporters, regional campaign headquarters and voters. TI Georgia will publish a final report on the misuse of administrative resources at the end of January, documenting findings and providing recommendations for preventing the future misuse of administrative resources.

In addition to this monitoring, TI Georgia conducted media monitoring in the pre-election period, focusing on: the frequency of presidential candidates’ appearance on TV and in print media; the tone of coverage; frequency and pricing of political advertisements; equity of interviews, editorials and other print media materials, as well as TV stories about the candidates; and photos of presidential candidates in print media. The first report on media monitoring was published on 27 December 2007. The final data will be included in TI Georgia’s final report.

TI Georgia also conducted election day monitoring in preliminary detention facilities throughout the country, finding that only 7 percent of preliminary detainees were able to vote, as only 7 percent of them had identification cards required by Georgian legislation to cast a vote.
To read TI Georgia's report please click here.

By Georg Neumann

In December, Transparency International (TI) published its National Integrity System (NIS) country studies, giving a detailed assessment of the situation of corruption at the national level in seven Southern African countries: Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritius, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. TI’s NIS studies analyse the key institutions, laws and practices that contribute to integrity, transparency and accountability in a society. The seven studies together with a regional overview study were presented in a launch event in Harare, Zimbabwe.

The regional overview study, coordinated by TI Zimbabwe, identified four underlying trends: legislation is not sufficient, political corruption is on the rise, a corrupt judiciary blocks anti-corruption efforts, and accountability for public resources is low. The report specifically highlights areas of regional concern and particular regional frameworks for cooperation, such as the AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, the Southern Africa Development Community and the African Development Bank, and their relevance to the NIS in the region.

For more information on the different countries and to access the regional survey please click here.

By Georg Neumann

They presented reports analysing implementation progress of the IACAC in their countries. These reports serve as an additional and independent source of information to assess country performance. During the meeting, TI also presented recommendations to strengthen the follow-up mechanism, including greater civil society participation.

Together with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, TI organised a round table discussion on the topic ‘Fighting Corruption in the Americas: Is the Inter-American Convention Living Up to its Potential?’. National chapters used the opportunity to present the anti-corruption work done in their respective countries, as well as discuss progress and challenges related to the implementation of the Convention. TI also presented a regional study on challenges to implementing the IACAC.