On November 5, thousands of people gathered to protest the rigged election, marching from Central Train Station Square towards Rustaveli Ave, which was closed to traffic as more people arrived. The opposition leaders announced non-stop demonstrations to demand new election and announced a triple plan of action. The rally was also attended by Greta Tumberg, a prominent Swedish climate activist who arrived in Georgia the morning of the 5th November.
Judge Vladimer Khuchua, of the Tetritskaro municipality, confirmed that the secrecy surrounding the vote was violated during the elections on October 26, setting a precedent for the case. This decision invalidates the results of 30 precincts. He is the only judge to have ruled in favor of Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA), which claimed that the secret of the ballot was violated during the election.
Salome Zurabishvili, the president of Georgia, criticized the diplomats of Georgia for their silence on the “trampling of Europe’s longed-for path” and the “steps towards Russia”. “If you do not dare to resign or raise your voice or to express a differing opinion, what is left?” In a post on social media, the president asked Georgian diplomats: “Are you so afraid?”
Levan Ioseliani expressed his opinion in an interview with Palitranews on the allegedly fraudulent Georgian elections. He said that his mandate did not cover the assessment of election legitimacy and claimed that the opponents refused to cooperate with him. The Public Defender is often criticized for his inability or delay in responding to human rights issues. His interview has also been criticized on social media.
Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of Parliament, slammed “disinformation”, referring to alleged election fraud. The briefing was more notable for the map of Georgia that showed the occupied territories of Abkhazia, Tskhinvali, and Tskhinvali as invisible to the naked-eye. The absence of the occupied territories from the official map was a source of public anger, even though elections are not possible in these areas.
My Vote is a local watchdog mission that brings together dozens of civil society organizations in Georgia. She called on the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate officials of the Central Election Commission’s election administration, who she claimed were involved in an extensive rigging scheme. Londa Toloraia is the representative of the local observer mission. She accused Giorgi Kaandarishvili of being the Chairman of Central Election Commission of Georgia and his deputy Giorgi Sharabide, as well as Secretary of CEC Giorgi Javakhishvili of playing a major role in rigging the Georgian elections.
Londa Toloraia also claims she was summoned by a prosecutor’s office in connection with an investigation into alleged election fraud. Toloraia claimed that she would only be questioned in court, and refused to visit the Prosecutor’s Office which she claimed was “totally passive” and had “failed to fulfill its preventive and investigative role during the election period.”
The Data of the Day
According to the National Statistics Office of Georgia, Georgia’s inflation rate was 0.3% in October. Geostat reports that consumer prices rose by 0.3% each month. The annual inflation rate is primarily driven by changes in prices for restaurants and hotels (7.6%), miscellaneous products and services (5.8%), education (5%), alcoholic beverages and cigarettes (3.3%), and communication (12.7%).
Read More @ civil.ge