Armenia – Nikol Pashinyan, Reforms, Protests Britannica
Day: November 15, 2024
On October 26 Georgia held elections to elect the 150-member Parliament. These were the first fully-proportional elections in Georgia, with a 5% threshold. These were also the first electronic elections, with about 90% of voters casting their ballots through electronic devices installed at polling stations.
According to the Central Election Commission the official results are: (41) Georgian Dream (current ruling party) – 53.93%; (4) Coalition for Change – (Ahali+Girchi – More Freedom+Droa) 11.03%, (5) Unity – to Save Georgia – 10.17%5 (United National Movement + Strategy Agmashenebeli); (9) Strong Georgia (Lelo for Georgia + For People + Citizens + Freedom Square) – 58.81%; and (25) For Georgia (led by ex GD Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia) – 7.78%.
The local observer organizations speak of “large-scale” rigging and demand the annulment of the official results. According to them, the alleged rigging scheme included, among others, confiscating voters’ ID cards before the election, artificial obstacles for independent election observers, as well as multiple instances of fraudulent voting and multiple votes cast by individuals working with Georgian Dream observers and party-affiliated election officials.
The OSCE/ODIHR shared its first preliminary assessment, saying the elections “unfolded amid entrenched polarization in an environment marred by concerns over recently adopted legislation, its impact on fundamental freedoms and civil society.”
The President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili rejected the election results and demanded an immediate investigation into election fraud. The opposition denies the legitimacy of the elections, announcing non-stop protests to demand new elections. Opposition leaders announced plan consisting of 1) Informing all Georgian citizens about the fraud, deception and machinations used by Georgian Dream to steal elections. 2) Ensuring that international partners don’t recognize the rigged elections. 3) Continuing democratic resistance, civic activism, and street protests.
Georgia’s international partners, including the U.S. and the European Union, have called for an independent international investigation into the election violations and said these elections move Georgia away from EU and NATO.
LIVE UPDATES (ALL TIMES ARE LOCAL)
For the chronology of events following the October 26 elections till November 13, see our October 26 Parliamentary Elections Blog
Friday, November 15
12:25 – Batumi Shota Rustaveli State University Students Protest Rigged Election
Students of Batumi Shota Rustaveli state university continue to protest the rigged elections, demanding annulment of the results and reorganizing new parliamentary elections. The students spent all night long in the university to protect their ‘European choice’. They accuse the lecturers and the university administration of being involved in the rigging of the elections. The participants of the rally say that the protest can go to the extreme if the demands are not met. Today, at 18:00, a large protest is planned in Batumi. They are also calling on students from other universities to protest and defend their voices.
12:00 – Mamuka Khazaradze Says “Traces of the Crime are Being Covered up” in Connection with Elections
One of the leaders of Strong Georgia, Mamuka Khazaradze stated the Prosecutor’s Office’s seizure of voter verification devices and election documentation raises reasonable suspicion that “the traces of the crime are being covered up.” As Khazaradze wrote on Facebook, these devices and documentation contain unmistakable information that confirms “systemic crimes related to unprecedented election fraud.” The CEC has appealed to Prosecutor’s Office to launch an investigation into the alleged falsification of the elections, and the Prosecutor’s Office is questioning political leaders. This, according to Khazaradze, was in fact done so that the Prosecutor’s Office could confiscate all the equipment and election documents, which it did by sealing them in a special warehouse.
Thursday, November 14
17:00 – Coalition for Change Presentation of Evidence of Election Fraud Scheme
On November 14 the opposition Coalition for Change, made up of the Ahali, Girchi-More Freedom and Droa parties, which garnered the most votes among other opposition coalitions, presented a document detailing evidence of electoral fraud. The Coalition also brought hundreds of filed complaints describing the violations, which were displayed at the venue.
Zurab Japaridze, one of the leaders of the coalition, presented the extensive document at a special press-conference, which was attended by journalists from all Georgian media, including the pro-government media outlets. The document draws conclusions about fraud scheme based on specific cases.
15:15 – Gakharia Stresses Importance of Not Recognizing Elections As Legitimate by Int’l Partners
Giorgi Gakharia, leader of the opposition party ‘For Georgia’, stressed the importance of international partners not recognizing the legitimacy of the parliamentary elections and called for the release of the voters’ list, which had been seized by the prosecutor’s office as part of an investigation. He added that the CEC no longer had access to the data. He also addressed the GD’s lack of attention to the occupied territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which could seriously undermine Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. In particular, he highlighted Russia’s recent demands during the November 7 Geneva talks on “border” delimitation and a non-use of force agreement.
15:00 – Tamar Kordzaia of Unity-UNM: All Branches of Government “Actively Cleaning Up” Rigged Elections
Tamar Kordzaia, one the leaders of ‘Unity-UNM’ said that all branches of the government, including CEC and the Prosecutors Office, are actively ‘cleaning up’ the rigged elections. She said a day earlier the Unity-UNM filed a petition with the court to suspend the court’s consideration of the case until the Prosecutor’s Office completes its investigation, which was denied. She said: “We see that the Prosecutor’s Office has intervened and suspended access to documents for any agency, so this is simply the rule of the “Georgian Dream”, the modern Communist Party…”
