In an interview with Russian news group Russia Today, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov denied accusations of Russian interference in Georgian elections. He accused the West of meddling with Georgia’s internal affairs and expressed his readiness to normalize bilateral relations further with Georgia. Lavrov said that the Americans were trying to blame us for what they were doing.
Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said at a press conference that the U.S. supported the people of Georgia in their desire to integrate into the Euro-Atlantic community and would not hesitate to take further measures to counter the undemocratic actions of the ruling Georgian Dream Government. “… “We will continue to examine whether additional measures would be appropriate, and if there are any, we will not hesitate to use them,” Miller said.
The Iranian Embassy shared the message of congratulations sent by Masoud Pezeshkian, Iranian President to Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze for Georgian Dream’s declared election victory. President Pezeshkian expressed the hope that these elections, which “was the expression of Georgian People’s Will”, will become the beginning of “progress and wellbeing” for the Georgians and contribute to strengthening bilateral relations and regional cooperation.
The protesters led by the opposition gathered in front of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals, which was scheduled to hear the GYLA’s appeals regarding the annulment of votes from all precincts that used electronic equipment for voting. The site was surrounded by police. The opposition leaders have promised that the nonstop protests will spread throughout the country and capital in the next few days and weeks. Here you can read about the plans of opposition forces.
For Georgia, the party of former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, released a statement in which it claimed that the Prosecutor’s Office could erase “essential evidence” of election fraud by stealing voter verification machines. The court dismissed our urgent appeal for the protection of data on CEC servers and in voting machines. Meanwhile, the Prosecutor’s Office is attempting to seize control over the verification devices under the guise a fabricated probe.
Zurab Japaridze, one of the leaders of Coalition for Change was summoned by the Prosecutor General’s Office to be questioned about the evidence he had regarding the election fraud. Japaridze, according to media reports, is expected to be there on November 6, but he will not go to the Prosecutor’s Office. He will instead present evidence before the Magistrate judge.
Mamuka Khazaradze, another leader of the coalition “Strong Georgia”, also claims he was summoned to the Prosecutor General’s Office to be questioned about the evidence he had about the election fraud. He said he would not go to the prosecutor’s office, but instead present the evidence to a Magistrate judge.
Gigi Ugulava is a member of the Unity-United National Movement coalition. In a Facebook posting, he said that his account was frozen because he had not paid the fine for public transport. He claims he didn’t use public transport and so could not be fined. “They claim that I took the bus on August 24 in Vazisubani (Tbilisi district) without a ticket. Ugulava wrote on Facebook that she had never taken a bus to Vazisubani, either with or without a ticket.
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