Election Commission Chair says allegations about electoral fraud “must be accompanied with relevant evidence, facts”

Giorgi Kalandarishvili, the Chair of the Central Election Commission of Georgia, on Monday said allegations about electoral fraud in last month’s general elections in the country “must be accompanied with relevant evidence and facts”.

In his remarks, Kalandarishvili stressed the claims  -  coming from the opposition and President Salome Zourabichvili - represented a “very serious accusation”.

“It is a very serious accusation when it comes to electoral fraud. Relevant evidence must be presented, the facts must be established, and appropriate measures must be taken by the relevant authorities”, the head of the election administration said.

We must tell the public that even if they have any evidence that any manipulation took place somewhere, even shortly after the election day or during this month, the election administration was the agency that, a few days after the elections, addressed the Georgian Prosecutor's Office over such allegations in order to conduct appropriate investigation within the scope of their mandate and ensure the provision of objective information to the public”, he concluded.

The newly elected Georgian Parliament on Monday recognised the powers of all elected 150 MPs, with 88 votes in favour of the decision.

Prior to the voting, Kalandarishvili introduced results of last month’s general elections to the legislative body and delivered the documents to the Commission of Temporary Mandates for the recognition of the powers of the MPs.