The Chairman of the Communications Commission, Kakha Bekauri, met the observer mission of the Council of Europe in to discuss the monitoring of the Georgian media space during the election period, election campaigns and free political advertising, as well as to assess the current situation and discuss the challenges in this regard. After the meeting, Kakha Bekauri spoke to the media about the aforementioned issues and emphasised that all decisions made by the Communications Commission are based on the law, court decisions and European best practices. 

Specifically, Kakha Bekauri addressed the case of several media outlets refusing to air the free political advert of the political union Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia on the grounds of hate speech. Mr. Bekauri noted that the video clip in question did not contain any violations in accordance with European standards and legal practices. He added that these media outlets were themselves found to air political adverts containing blatant hate speech during the previous elections. “If there are any content violations and the political advert does not meet the legal requirements, we will naturally take appropriate steps, but in this specific case, no violations were detected by us or by the court. We are guided by best European practices and the standards of the Strasbourg court with regards to hate speech. According to these standards, the video clip in question does not contain hate speech. Moreover, I would point out that the media outlets that are currently citing hate speech as the grounds for refusal to air the advert were themselves found to place adverts containing blatant hate speech during the last elections, and were borderline even by the Strasbourg standards.” Kakha Bekauri concluded by saying that in light of the aforementioned circumstances and legal practices, broadcasters are obliged to air the advert submitted by the political union Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia, as it meets all legal norms. 

Speaking to the media, Kakha Bekauri also stated that it is very important for the Communications Commission to conduct pre-election campaigns in full compliance with the law, so that the public can receive important information and make an informed choice.