Central Election Commission refutes Zourabichvili’s accusations of electoral fraud

The Central Election Commission (CEC) stated that President Salome Zourabichvili’s accusation that the parliamentary elections were fraudulent and rigged ‘is absolutely without argument and represents a politically motivated disregard for the factual circumstances’.

The CEC said that the assertions  made by the president ‘appear to be a continuation of a disinformation and manipulation campaign driven by specific political interests’.

‘We emphasise once again that there are no confirmed facts and evidence that there were violations during the parliamentary elections that could have had a significant impact on the final results of these elections’, the statement read.

‘Nevertheless, the President of Georgia, unfortunately, repeats the propaganda narrative of some interested representatives and thereby tries to discredit the elections and, consequently, the election administration at the local and international levels, thereby contributing to bringing even more tension into the already polarised environment’.

The CEC ‘called on the president and all interested parties’ to present relevant, substantiated evidence ‘or refrain from spreading unsubstantiated/unfounded and misleading statements that undermine public confidence in the election process’.

Following the October parliamentary elections, a number of monitoring organisations stated that the electoral process was fraudulent and demanded independent investigations into reported irregularities. Zourabichvili has echoed those sentiments, repeatedly saying the elections were rigged in favour of Georgian Dream.