Georgian Election Commission Chair calls claims on CEC “allegedly being under ruling party’s influence” “groundless”

Giorgi Kalandarishvili, the Chair of the Central Election Commission, on Saturday said the allegations that the election administration was “under the influence of the ruling Georgian Dream party are groundless” and “there is no basis or factual evidence to make such conclusions”. 

Commenting on the critical declaration - Elections in Georgia - alarming developments - issued recently by 24 MPs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe regarding the October 26 parliamentary elections, Kalandarishvili noted he had had a meeting with representatives of the European Parliament where there had not been “any indications or hints of any kind of bias [in this regard]”. 

“The CEC, as an institution, will continue its fully transparent and public activities, creating every possible mechanism to ensure accessibility and inclusiveness in the process”, the Commission Chair pointed out, reiterating his commitment to cooperating with all domestic and international organisations to “exchange information to allow them to make proper, accurate assessments”.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Thursday also commented on the declaration of PACE MPs claiming the country’s Central Election Commission “recently has been brought under the control of the ruling Georgian Dream party”, saying it had no “value”.