Georgian Prosecutor’s Office claims simulations do not prove allegations of election fraud

The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia has submitted an interim report as part of the ongoing investigation into the allegations of fraud in the 2024 parliamentary elections, claiming that its preliminary findings do not show evidence of rigging.

At a briefing, Prosecutor Beka Kvitsiani stated that investigative simulations established that it is impossible for the same person to vote at different polling stations using the voter verification devices used during the parliamentary elections.

What OC Media observed during Georgia’s election

OC Media collected evidence and first-hand accounts of an array of violations on the Georgian parliamentary election day. On the election day, OC Media dispatched a dozen journalists into several regions of Georgia to monitor the voting and counting process. The following details only the violatio…

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According to the information provided to the media by Kvitsiani, the reports disseminated by political parties, the self-declared interim President Salome Zourabichvili, the Public Defender, monitoring organisations, and the media cannot be confirmed at this stage.

‘As a result of the investigative simulations conducted and the interviews with the international experts involved, the theoretical possibility of repeated or multiple voting by one voter at different or the same polling station was excluded’, the prosecutor said, adding that this was ‘also confirmed by the international audit reports requested from the CEC [Central Election Commission]’.

Kvitsiani also claimed the investigative experiment determined that if the voter list of one polling station is activated in the verification device, it is impossible to activate the data of another polling station in the same device.

He also noted that marking fluid was submitted for examination to determine the suitability of the fluid and its compliance with international standards.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, most of the witnesses were unable to provide useful information to the investigation. Prosecutors have said about 400 individuals have been questioned in the criminal case and the process of questioning witnesses is currently ongoing.

Kvitsiani said up to 800 investigative and procedural actions have already been carried out at this stage, including with the participation of foreign experts.

The official results of 26 October’s parliamentary elections gave the ruling Georgian Dream party a majority, with 54% of the vote. However, local media, observer groups, and opposition politicians have documented widespread vote rigging by the ruling party and the institutions it controls, which they argue resulted in a favourable outcome for Georgian Dream.

With the exception of a few foreign leaders, the election has not been widely recognised as legitimate, including by the EU and the US, which have also declined to openly state that Georgian Dream is an illegitimate government.

The Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into the election fraud case at the end of October 2024, based on the CEC’s appeal. Politicians and representatives of the civil society were summoned for questioning.

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