Amra Amichba

The Congress team held a live broadcast on the Facebook social network, where the members of the team answered the audience's questions about the results of the election campaign to the Parliament of the RA, and also talked about plans for the future.

The audience asked questions live. Questions could also be sent in advance by e-mail. The questions were answered by newly elected MP Inar Gitsba, ex-candidates for deputies Izolda Khagba, Temur Rekvava, Dmitry Zhiba and the Chief of Staff of the Supreme Council of the WAC Kan Tania. The broadcast was moderated by the editor-in-chief of the WAC information portal Amina Lazba.

The Congress team held a live broadcast on the Facebook social network

© WAC

The participants of the Congress noted at the very beginning of the broadcast that the format of live summing up the results of the past elections is due to the desire of the Congress team for openness. They immediately agreeing to the answers uncut.

The moderator voiced one of the most frequently asked questions: "Why did the public organization "World Abaza Congress" decide to go into politics?"

Answering the question, the participants of the air emphasized that participation in the elections to the Parliament was an individual decision of the employees who were nominated as candidates by the initiative groups. Working in the WAC, the team members visited almost all the localities of the Republic, they communicated a lot with the residents, imbued with their problems and aspirations. Thus, a socially oriented program of like-minded people was born, for the implementation of which it would be of great help "to be at the lever of making specific decisions at the legislative level" - in this case, in the Parliament of Abkhazia, the participants of the broadcast noted.

The Chief of Staff of the WAC Supreme Council, Kan Tania, separately explained the legal aspect of the participation of the WAC team in the parliamentary elections.

"The public organization did not nominate candidates, the employees of the Congress were nominated. But in order to preserve the association with the public organization, with our activities, we have chosen such a format as the "Congress team". A program was prepared based on the collective experience of activities within the framework of the World Abaza Congress," Tania said.

During the broadcast, the newly elected deputy Inar Gitsba and ex-candidates answered numerous questions from users: they were even interested in their personal impressions of the past campaign, especially since all members of the WAC team participated in the elections for the first time.

Point blank questions were raised, for example: "Did you bribe voters"?  "If charitable activities carried out over the years of work in the WAC are considered bribery, then yes," the Congress members joked.

All of them shared their observations on how the election campaign was held in general at the polling stations. Izolda Khagba noted with regret that it was "not a race of candidates, their ideas, programs and capabilities, but a struggle of headquarters resources, in which voters are involved who do not understand that the result depends on their choice."

With all this, the participants reported that, despite the imperfection of the electoral legislation, which needs to be changed, members of the Congress will also take part in the next parliamentary elections.

The live broadcast lasted an hour and a half and went in one breath: interest in the discussion was maintained not only by users, but also by the participants themselves. Kan Tania shared the conclusion that, judging by the number of online viewers, comments and questions, the format was in demand.

"There were many interesting questions - both tricky, deep, and funny.  In my opinion, this format is useful for communicating with the people. And, if there is such a request in the future, we will definitely continue. We are used to work openly and speak openly about our activities. That is why we wanted to share our emotions, thoughts, ideas about our new experience - the election campaign, the election process as a whole. The editor-in-chief of the WAC information portal, Amina Lazba, proposed the idea of ​​holding a live broadcast, and we supported it with enthusiasm," said the Chief of Staff of the WAC SC.

Inar Gitsba, in turn, noted that the live broadcast format made it possible to answer "sometimes difficult questions" as openly as possible in real time.

"We would like this practice to be continued. Perhaps someone else will follow our example and apply this form of communication with our population. There is often little feedback on the process itself after the completion of a given political process related to elections. We wanted, after everything was over, to draw a certain line under what was done by the team as a whole. It's nice that there were a lot of questions and complimentary comments. We tried to be as open as possible with everyone," summed up Inar Gitsba.

The editor-in-chief of the WAC information portal Amina Lazba admitted that it was a little "exciting" to broadcast live, and this was the first time in her journalistic practice.

"I have never broadcasted live, when everything is without editing, recording or preparation. You don’t know what questions will be asked," she explained.

Lazba said that it was important that a big number of viewers connected to the air. It was necessary to choose a good time to start the broadcast. In the end, everything worked out as planned.

"I am very pleased with the result. Everything went in an open, trusting atmosphere. I am satisfied with the number of questions and the interest showed. We have received lots of nice words and wishes. It was important for me that we were on the air with the whole team. Separate interviews with each of them were recorded, and here we are all together," shared the editor-in-chief of the information portal.

According to her, if there is a demand and desire of the audience, such broadcasts will be held in the future.

Four employees of the World Abaza Congress - Inar Gitsba, Izolda Khagba, Temur Rekvava and Dmitry Zhiba in the 2022 elections in different constituencies ran for the People's Assembly - the Parliament of the Republic of Abkhazia. According to the voting results on March 12, the Executive Secretary of the WAC Inar Gitsba entered the second round, and won becoming a deputy. In total, 33 deputies out of 35 were elected as a result of the parliamentary elections. Repeated elections will be held in two constituencies. The first session of the seventh convocation of the Parliament is scheduled for April 12.