A poster with the phrase ‘Georgia is not Russia’ during an opposition demonstration against the results of the legislative elections, on October 28, 2024 in front of the Parliament in Tbilisi
Vano Shlamov
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The Georgian prosecutor’s office announced on Wednesday the opening of an investigation into “alleged falsification” of the recent legislative elections, in which the pro-European opposition accused the ruling party of fraud.
According to the electoral commission of this Caucasian country, the Georgian Dream party, in power since 2012, won Sunday’s elections with 53.9% of votes against 37.7% for the opposition coalition, which does not recognize these results.
The European Union, the United States and international observers expressed doubts about the regularity of the vote, which, according to the pro-Western camp, was “stolen.”
“The Georgian prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the alleged falsification of the legislative elections,” the public ministry said in a statement, which summoned the country’s president, Salome Zurabishvili, to testify on Thursday.
The head of state, confronted with the government and critical of the results, “may have evidence of possible falsification,” explained the prosecutor’s office.
Following allegations of fraud, the electoral commission began a partial recount of votes in 14% of voting centers on Tuesday.
In an interview on Monday with AFP, the Georgian president denounced “sophisticated” methods of fraud that follow a “Russian methodology”, such as “vote buying” or “pressure” on voters.
The spokesman for the Russian presidency, Dmitri Peskov, rejected these accusations, which he described as “unfounded”, and denied any interference by Moscow in the electoral process.
The opposition accuses Georgian Dream of a pro-Russian authoritarian drift and of distancing the former Soviet republic from the objective, inscribed in its Constitution, of joining the EU and NATO.
