Parliament Speaker claims President making allegations over election irregularities “without presenting evidence”

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Thursday said President Salome Zourabichvili was making allegations over irregularities in the parliamentary elections held on Saturday “without presenting evidence”.

Papuashvili’s comments came after the Prosecutor's Office of Georgia on Wednesday said it had launched an investigation into claims of “falsification” of elections, after the Central Election Commission of the country asked the body for an inquiry following claims by Zourabichvili and other political figures.

In his remarks over the matter, the Speaker claimed Zourabichvili was “slandering Georgian citizens” and “various ethnic groups” that “they are being used for some kind of forgery”.

“[S]he has been busy [spreading] disinformation. By the way, even some foreign counterparts told us that Salome's destructive actions at a foreign level are already noticeable”, Papuashvili claimed.

She is not going to testify. She says that she has brought charges and [now] it is up to [the authorities] to investigate. She has been a member of the Parliament for years, she has been the President of Georgia for years, and she does not understand basic legal issues”, he continued.

Papuashvili further cited the President's interview to The Associated Press, where she said a “carousel scheme” had been used to rig the elections by enabling individuals to vote with a single ID card “17 times”.

“This is a direct accusation. She did not say 16 times, she did not say 18 times, she did not say 19 times either. She said 17 times, because she has some detailed information regarding the methodology and methods used. So she should come out and say why [it happened] 17 times”, he noted.

Matthew Miller, the Spokesperson for the United States Department of State, on Wednesday said he hoped Zourabichvili could provide  information about alleged irregularities in elections that would be “relevant to any investigation”.