Georgian prosecutors bring charges against organizers of ballot stuffing
Earlier on Thursday, the Georgian Interior Ministry said in a statement it had detained two persons for ballot stuffing at the 69th polling station in the Marneuli district
TBILISI, October 31. /TASS/. The Prosecutor General's Office of Georgia has officially brought charges against two people responsible for mass ballot stuffing at a polling stations on the parliamentary election day.
"The Prosecutor's Office of Georgia has filed charges against two people over election fraud. An investigation by the Interior Ministry has found that on October 26, 2024, during the parliamentary elections in Georgia, the accused inserted fake ballots into ballot boxes at the 69th polling station of Marneuli with the purpose of election fraud, thus causing the termination of the voting process and annulment of the election results at the aforesaid station," the news release reads.
The prosecutor's office will apply to court to demand remanding the accused into custody.
Earlier on Thursday, the Georgian Interior Ministry said in a statement it had detained two persons for ballot stuffing at the 69th polling station in the Marneuli district. This crime is punishable by imprisonment for up to two years.
Elections in Georgia
Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia on October 26, employing the widespread use of electronic ballot boxes for the first time. According to the Central Election Commission, the ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party got 54.08% of the vote. As the winner it has the right to form the government on its own. Four opposition parties cleared the five-percent threshold: Coalition for Change had 10.92%, Unity-National Movement - 10.12%, Strong Georgia - 8.78%, and Gakharia for Georgia - 7.76%. All opposition parties that have entered parliament refuse to recognize the results of the elections. Also, the results of the election were not recognized by the country's President Salome Zourabichvili. She argues that the election was rigged and in reality the opposition won more votes than Georgian Dream and gained a majority in the parliament.