Strong Georgia Coalition Calls for International Investigation into Alleged Election Fraud
By Liza Mchedlidze
Monday, November 4, 2024
Ana Natsvlishvili, a member of the Strong Georgia coalition, addressed the media, responding to recent investigative reports by TV Pirveli alleging election fraud. She claimed the reports support her coalition's stance that the government manipulated the election, arguing that these actions should be investigated by an international mission.
"We are stating that the gravest crime has been committed, with clear signs of Russian interference in Georgian elections, alongside evidence of multiple criminal acts. This situation demands an urgent international investigation," Natsvlishvili said.
She criticised the Georgian Dream-led government's approach to election oversight, calling the prosecutor's office a "pocket prosecutor" unable to impartially investigate such incidents. According to Natsvlishvili, those involved in the alleged scheme "clearly had an absolute guarantee of impunity." She argued that without such assurances, no one "would have participated in this criminal scheme."
"The impunity syndrome we see is directly due to law enforcement agencies, including the prosecutor's office, which has neglected investigations for years, allowing evidence from important cases to disappear," she stated.
Natsvlishvili argued that if Georgian law enforcement genuinely wanted to address the alleged election irregularities, they would not need media investigations to prompt them into action. Instead, she called for an "extraordinary investigative mechanism" led by the European Union to ensure an impartial review of the evidence.
"In our view, this mechanism should be established by the EU, allowing for an unbiased analysis of the events without any conflicts of interest," she explained. Natsvlishvili affirmed that her coalition would continue to pursue both local and international efforts to gather and present evidence of election tampering.
