Investigators demand Georgian president proves election fraud claim
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili must present evidence to back up her claims that last week’s parliamentary election was “stolen,” the prosecutor general’s office said on Wednesday.
The president was summoned to make an official statement on Thursday, the investigative body said, pledging to review all claims presented in due order. It urged other individuals to share information about specific violations during the contested vote.
The ruling Georgian Dream party gained just under 54% of the votes on Sunday. Zourabichvili rejected the official tally and claimed that the opposition parties actually won. The French-born politician described the election as a “Russian special operation.” She and other politicians demand a new election organized under international supervision rather than by the Georgian Central Election Commission (CEC).
Georgian election officials complained to prosecutors about the rhetoric on Tuesday, urging them to investigate Zourabichvili and unspecified political leaders for launching “unfounded attacks on the CEC” with the apparent goal of tarnishing its reputation. International observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have “positively assessed the elections and praised the CEC’s performance,” the statement noted.
The OSCE’s report does not back Zourabichvili’s claim of widespread fraud in the election. It raised concerns over possible pressure on some voters and said that differences in the financial resources of the parties and the advantage of incumbency “contributed to an already uneven playing field.” It praised the CEC for improving the electoral infrastructure, including the use of electronic devices for voter identification and counting.
The commission called out the president for claiming in multiple interviews that a single ID could and was used multiple times with the new equipment. The same technology is used in elections across the world, it said, adding that Zourabichvili failed to present evidence to support her accusations.
The opposition parties which crossed the 5% threshold required to hold seats in the parliament have refused to accept mandates for their candidates, as they demand a new election, while threatening a sustained campaign of protests.
The Georgian Constitution demands that the first session of a newly elected parliament be held no later than ten days after the election results are officially announced. The president must convene parliament, which gives Zourabichvili a potential way to trigger a constitutional crisis. The new parliament acquires full power once two-thirds of the MPs acknowledge it, which gives dissenting parties some leverage as well.
