Georgian Prosecutor: body to interview individuals with information on election “fraud”

Georgian Prosecutor Ketevan Chachava on Wednesday told local media “all individuals with relevant information” would be summoned to the Prosecutor's Office for interviews and asked to provide “concrete evidence” as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged criminal violations in last month’s parliamentary elections.

Chachava said Londa Toloraia, a representative of the monitoring coalition My Voice for Europe, had been interviewed by a magistrate judge earlier today, adding Toloraia “mainly referred” to media reports during her testimony and claimed “she had not directly observed any fraudulent activity herself” during the elections.

The Prosecutor also addressed concerns raised about the evidence presented during the court session, noting while Toloraia had cited media briefings and information from complaints, “no new evidence was submitted at this stage”.

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Chachava reassured the public the investigation would be “thorough and transparent”, and stated investigative actions would be “carefully planned and executed to ensure an objective and complete inquiry”.

She also mentioned the Prosecutor's Office had launched an investigation last week  into claims of “possible falsification” of elections following media coverage and claims by President Salome Zourabichvili, non-governmental organisations and other political figures.

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She also dismissed concerns that investigative actions would not be thoroughly conducted, stressing that “all necessary measures will be taken to uncover the truth in the case”.

The investigative agency has summoned the President, Mamuka Khazaradze, a leader of the Lelo opposition party from the Strong Georgia coalition, and Zurab Girchi Japaridze, who leads the Girchi - More Freedom opposition party, for interviews as part of the investigation.