President Salome Zurabishvili responds to her summoning at the Prosecutor’s Office for questioning.
At today’s briefing on October 30, the President showed footage of election violations. “Those materials don’t need an explanation. This footage is a direct proof and answers a question about what was happening and how the elections of October 26 were held,” she said.
“It turns out that the prosecutor’s office expects confessions from me. I knew it was the other way around – the investigative body had to find the evidence itself. This happens in any normal country. I’ve never heard an investigative agency asking the president to present an evidence,” said the president.
She also 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. They coincide strangely with the instructions issued by Medvedev. I don’t know who performs them and who doesn’t. I would advise the prosecutor’s office to start its work and avoid confrontation with the president,” she concluded.
The Georgian Prosecutor’s Office on Oct. 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 Oct. 29, citing frustration over becoming a “target of intense attacks and unfounded criticism” after 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.
The president’s questioning is scheduled for October 31.
