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Spain requests an investigation into the alleged fraud in the elections in Georgia

by AI | 28.Oct 2024 | Europe in brief AI

The President of Georgia denounced the “total fraud” and rejected the official results that give victory to the ruling party, the pro-Russian Georgian Dream.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, holds a press conference after his meeting with authorities from the Campo de Gibraltar, at the ministry's headquarters, on October 9, 2024, in Madrid (Spain). Photos: Carlos Luján / Europa Press

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Madrid – The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation of the Government of Spain, José Manuel Albares, has acknowledged that he finds the alleged fraud in the parliamentary elections held this Saturday in Georgia “concerning” and has advocated for an investigation to clarify this matter.

“It is something very concerning that, of course, needs to be investigated very seriously and, together with the rest of the European Union countries, we have spoken out in that sense,” Albares said following the alleged fraud in the elections, in which, according to data from the Central Electoral Commission, the Georgian Dream party, considered pro-Russian, emerged victorious.

The Spanish minister was referring to the communication from the Twenty-seven this Sunday, which calls on Georgian authorities to clarify the “irregularities” reported by observers endorsed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The message endorsed by the High Representative of the EU’s Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, and the European Commission recalls that the International Election Observer Mission indicates that the voting took place in a “tense atmosphere,” that secret voting was questioned, and there are “procedural inconsistencies.”

Furthermore, it points out that there have been “reports of pressure on voters, particularly on public sector workers,” and that repeated modifications of the electoral legislation have been recorded.

The President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, denounced the “total fraud” this Sunday and rejected the official results that give victory to the ruling party, Georgian Dream. Surrounded by leaders of opposition parties, the president asserted that the country had been “a victim of a special Russian operation.”

In this light, Albares emphasized that it is not “just any election” and admitted that it is “concerning” that there might have been “interference” in elections where Georgians had to decide about their future, after Europeans have already accepted that Georgia’s “final destination” is in the EU once the necessary reforms are undertaken.

“We will always stand by those in Georgia who want to be part of the European family,” he concluded. (October 28)

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