Following the Central Election Commission’s (CEC) request under Article 164 (interference with the work of election or referendum commissions), the Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the alleged rigging of the parliamentary elections. The Prosecutor’s Office also reported that President Salome Zurabishvili was summoned for questioning based on the CEC’s statement and online information indicating that she had evidence of fraud.
Later, President Zurabishvili held a press briefing, saying she would urge the Prosecutor’s Office to do its job and stop holding the President “politically” accountable, suggesting that she would not comply with the Prosecutor’s summons. The President also said that her summoning strangely coincided with a statement by Dimitry Medvedev calling for her removal from office and arrest.
Sopo Gelava and Eto Buziashvili, two Atlantic Council researchers whose houses were searched by the financial police two days before the election, say they now have no access to their bank accounts, with banks citing no legal justification or court order for freezing their accounts. The U.S. Helsinki Commission Chairman Joe Wilson has already reacted to the controversial news by condemning the unofficial freezing of the accounts of U.S. institution employees.
The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) reported that it had filed complaints with the district election commission, demanding the annulment of the results of all precincts in the districts where electronic technology was used – 2263 precincts in total. According to Nino Kurdovanidze, the chair of the watchdog, the annulment of these results would require the holding of new elections, as it will have a significant impact on the overall results of the elections. GYLA believes that the Central Election Commission failed to ensure the secrecy of the ballot in the 2024 parliamentary elections.
“Media Ombudsman,” the media watchdog says that the election day environment for journalists and cameramen from critical media was marked by violence, pressure, intimidation, and obstruction of their professional work. “For the representatives of critical media, obtaining and disseminating information about the vote was extremely difficult and dangerous,” reads the assessment of Media Ombudsman.
Unlike international and local observers, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze believes that the elections were “conducted cleanly, democratically and fairly” and promised that “absolutely everything will be open. Everyone can look into everything.” He thanked the Central Election Commission for its “openness” and the Prosecutor’s Office for promptly reacting to CEC’s appeal, further claiming that “all this indicates that neither CEC nor anybody else has anything to hide.”
The European Commission has published its reports on the alignment of Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova with the EU acquis – its body of common rights and applications. The report notes Georgia’s rate of alignment with the EU’s common foreign and security policy remains considerably low at 49% (though up from 44% during the previous cycle) and that “Georgia has not participated in EU crisis management missions and operations under the common security and defense policy since June 2023.”
On October 30, the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, held a press conference on the EU’s 2024 Enlargement Report. HR/VP Borrell spoke extensively about the Georgian parliamentary elections, calling for an investigation into the irregularities and noting that the Georgian authorities have “moved away from the EU” with recent actions and legislative decisions. The Enlargement Report, he says, offers the path for “re-engagement.”