President Salome Zurabishvili responded to her summoning to the Prosecutor’s Office for questioning at a briefing on October 30, where she showed footage of election violations. “These materials don’t need an explanation. This footage is a direct proof and answers the question as to what was happening and how the elections of October 26 were held,” she noted.
“It turns out that the Orosecutor’s office expects evidence and confessions from me. It should be the other way around – the investigative body should be the one searching for and providing evidence, as is the case in any normal country. I’ve never heard an investigative agency asking the president to present evidence,” Zurabishvili said.
She called on the agency to “avoid confrontation with the president.”
“The public is asking you for an investigation, not my evidence. No one expects the Prosecutor’s Office to start political processes against the president in this situation. It coincides strangely with the instructions issued by Medvedev,” she noted.
“I don’t know who is carrying out these orders, but I would advise the Prosecutor’s Office instead to start its work and avoid confrontation with the president,” she concluded.
The Georgian Prosecutor’s Office on October 30 launched an investigation into alleged parliamentary election fraud, following a complaint from the Central Election Commission (CEC).
The CEC said it filed the complaint on October 29, citing frustration over having become a “target of intense attacks and unfounded criticism” following the elections.
The case was initiated under Article 164³ of the Georgian criminal code (violation of voting secrecy, incorrect vote counting, or miscalculation of election results). One of the first individuals summoned for questioning by the prosecutor’s office is Georgia’s President, Salome Zurabishvili.
“Georgia’s President Salome Zurabishvili, along with representatives of certain political parties participating in the elections, is making unsubstantiated attacks on the CEC, attempting to harm the institution’s reputation with baseless accusations.”
“It is known to the public that the election administration is currently reviewing existing complaints; however, the allegations of ‘possible election fraud’ made by these politicians have already gained significant traction,” the CEC stated.
Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday, said: “The proxy President of Georgia refused to recognize the election results and went against the constitution by calling for a coup. In such cases, the standard practice is dismissal and arrest.”
The President is scheduled to appear that the Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday.
