October 15: Illegal obtaining and processing of voters’ sensitive personal data by “Georgian Dream”
- An investigative article by online publication “Batumelebi” revealed that “Georgian Dream” is illegally obtaining and processing sensitive personal data of tens of thousands of voters. The party has access to citizens’' health conditions, criminal records, social status, employment, education, and other personal information. Documentation shows that this information has been obtained from various government agencies, including the Ministries of Health, Justice, Education, Internal Affairs, and the Central Election Commission. The party uses this data to profile voters and influence them. The database includes a column labeled “Person of Influence”, which lists individuals, state agencies, companies, campaigners, etc.
This fact represents a gross violation of the Personal Data Protection Law and once again indicates that the ruling party is using state resources for voter profiling and continues the large-scale scheme of voter bribery and illegal mobilization described in the 2022 study published by “Transparency International - Georgia” and “International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy”. The material indicates criminal cooperation between significant state institutions and a single party to ensure desired election results for the latter. Such action threatens the idea of conducting free and fair elections and may be used for voter intimidation and manipulation. Besides various signs of different crimes evident in these facts, such as illegal obtaining and use of personal data and abuse of official power, the purpose of these systemic criminal schemes is to influence voters’ will and engage in large-scale election fraud.
