We’re ending our live coverage for today. Our team is currently working overtime to shine a light on what is happening in Georgia, as the country grasps with what appears to be a rigged election. You can help us in this mission by becoming an OC Media member. Your support helps us to continue this work.

You can read our editorial on the overwhelming evidence of irregularities in Georgia's election here: Editorial | Georgia’s rigged election.

And our coverage of Georgia's election was reported on by Russian media and its affiliates: ‘Colour revolutions’, Western meddling, coups — how Russian media is covering Georgia’s election.

Read our editorial on Georgia’s rigged elections and what it could mean for the country’s democratic future

Significant amounts of evidence have emerged pointing to a wide variety of electoral irregularities before, during, and in the days that followed Georgia’s parliamentary election on 26 October. In light of this evidence, OC Media has published an editorial declaring the election to be rigged in favour of the ruling Georgian Dream party. It is not a step we take lightly.

US official calls for independent probe into election irregularities, warns of ‘further steps’ if Georgia drifts toward authoritarianism

Voice of America (VOA) quoted an anonymous official from US President Joe Biden’s administration who urged the Georgian government to investigate alleged electoral violations through an independent mechanism.

‘For the investigation to be impartial, the Georgian government must conduct it through an unbiased mechanism. This could involve an international mechanism or one that includes civil society groups or groups representing other political forces [...] If the ruling party is responsible for these violations, it is not appropriate for the investigation to be led by the ruling party itself. I don’t have a specific mechanism in mind, but I would say that an impartial investigative mechanism is critically important to ensure trust in the elections’, the official said.

The official went on to note that the elections in Georgia were held 'with violations, cases of intimidation, and coercion', which was  'disappointing'. 

‘To be honest, it's very difficult for me to imagine that the country can continue on its Euro-Atlantic integration path, given what happened’, the official stated.

The official noted that it was up to Georgian authorities if they want to continue moving 'towards a hybrid or authoritarian regime', but warned that the US is 'prepared to take further steps if we see Georgia moving in this direction'.

The statement followed an announcement from the Georgian Prosecutor's Office, which said it had launched an investigation into possible election violations several days after election day, citing a request from electoral authorities. The announcement, particularly in light of their concurrent summons of President Salome Zourabichvili for questioning — viewed as a challenge to her election fraud claims — has been met with significant local scepticism.

Girchi rebukes larger opposition groups, calls for focus on ballot secrecy, street rally to achieve snap elections

Girchi (not to be confused with Girchi - More Freedom, a member of the Coalition for Change alliance), which garnered 3% of the vote, falling short of the 5% electoral threshold, has criticised larger opposition groups for distracting public attention from what they claim is the only confirmed irregularity — the violation of voting secrecy. 

Referring to the '”politicians” gathered around [Nika] Gvaramia, [Mamuka] Khazaradze, and [Giorgi] Gakharia' as either ‘bought off' or ‘weak minded', Girchi warned that their tactics would only foster public frustration and apathy, ultimately allowing Georgian Dream to remain in power.

Instead, Girchi advocated concentrating on the breach of ballot secrecy as central to the demand for new nationwide elections, bolstered by a street demonstration of 'unprecedented scale'. The party also alleged a massive rally would also dissuade Georgia's Western partners from recognising the declaring election results as legitimate.

For Georgia alleges Russian spies may have monitored Gakharia’s meeting with IRI official at Tbilisi café

The opposition For Georgia party has alleged that a photo of Giorgi Gakharia meeting with John DiPirro, head of the Tbilisi office of the International Republican Institute (IRI), a pro-democracy organisation, was discreetly taken by a couple who appeared to be Russian tourists seated nearby in a Tbilisi café before the elections. 

Kakha Kemoklidze, one of the leaders of the For Georgia party and the former Georgian security services official, underlined that the image was originally publicly reported by the pro-government TV channel Imedi on 20 September, to falsely allege DiPirro was giving Gakharia political instructions on his next steps. 

‘You have the location, the exact time, external and internal cameras, and face recognition technology’, Kemoklidze said. He appealed to his former employer, Georgia’s State Security Service, to identify the individuals, alleging it may illustrate interference by Russian intelligence services into Georgia’s elections during the campaign period.

Nika Gvaramia: ‘Up to 50’ protest tents ready

Nika Gvaramia, a leader of the Coalition for Change opposition alliance, has announced the mobilisation of ‘up to 50’ tents, suggesting a possible plan to use them in upcoming protest demonstrations against alleged election fraud. 

Gvaramia noted that the decision to deploy the tents has to be made from the full spectrum of the opposition, indicating that it has not yet been finalised.

In recent years, authorities have severely limited the public's right to use tents during protests, frequently citing concerns about public safety and order, despite objections from free speech advocates.

WeVote’s appeal to void 246 polling stations rejected

The WeVote group has reported that the electoral authorities rejected their appeal to challenge the complete results from 246 polling stations and refused to void any of them. According to WeVote, the decision affects a total of 417,305 registered voters.

Georgian Public Defender expresses scepticism about claims of massive election fraud

On Friday, Georgian Public Defender Levan Ioseliani stated that it was not within his mandate to assess the legitimacy of the parliamentary elections held last Saturday. He also said that the allegations over election fraud were nonsensical and expressed his scepticism over claims that ‘100,000’ Georgians had their IDs confiscated prior to election day for fraudulent use, or that ‘350,000 people’ were transported to different polling stations to vote multiple times, noting that not a single individual has come forward to substantiate these allegations.

Several critics, including Ioseliani’s predecessor, Nino Lomjaria, promptly accused him of mischaracterising the concerns over election manipulation.

For Georgia alleges voting records are being tampered with to hide irregularities

The opposition For Georgia party claimed on Friday that authorities are tampering with Central Election Commission databases and erasing data from electronic voting devices to destroy evidence of election fraud. Since last Saturday’s vote, the party has demanded access to voter participation records, as well as details of the state’s contract with Smartmatic, the company that managed electronic voting, warning that information stored on its electronic voting devices may soon be erased.

Second US pollster behind exit polls question Georgia's election results 

Following Edison Research's announcement that the official results of the 26 October parliamentary elections indicated vote tampering, HarrisX, another US pollster that conducted exit polls for Georgian TV channel Mtavari Arkhi, also questioned the results. The group described the discrepancy between official results and their exit poll results for 27 out of 73 voting districts as 'statistically impossible'.

Concerns mount over how sanctioned Russian propagandist by the West was allowed into Georgia to observe the elections

The Unity — United National Movement have called on the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate why Georgian electoral authorities granted media accreditation to Russian propagandist Aleksandr Malkevich.

Malkevich, a Russian propagandist linked to the late Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prighozin, has been sanctioned by the EU, the UK, US, and Canada for his role in Russia’s occupation of Ukraine and interference operations targeting elections in Western countries.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the French group dedicated to safeguarding information rights and media freedoms, first raised concerns on Thursday about Malkevich’s presence in Tbilisi during the Georgian elections.

Talgha announce daily protest demonstrations

The anti-government group Talgha have announced daily protests against alleged ‘massive election fraud’, starting today at 20:00 in Tbilisi. The announcement comes amidst growing frustration among some Georgians over three major opposition groups’ decision not to hold their protest demonstration until Monday evening.

Members of Georgian communities in several European cities have also planned their protest rallies against the alleged vote fraud for today.

Strong Georgia, Unity — United National Movement, and the Coalition for Change plan a protest rally on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi for 19:00 on 4 November.

Key events from yesterday:

• Opposition leaders met with Western ambassadors in Tbilisi in order to share information about the violations they recorded during the 26 October elections
• The Executive Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Mamuka Mdinaradze, vowed that the party would not withdraw the controversial foreign agent law
• Mdinaradze also accused the opposition of stealing votes from Georgian Dream, stating that the party will apply to the Prosecutor’s Office with evidence