State prosecutors in Georgia say they have launched an investigation into opposition allegations of “falsification” in recent parliamentary elections won by the governing Georgian Dream party, Al Jazeera reports.
The prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Wednesday that it has also summoned President Salome Zourabichvili, who has repeatedly said the vote count was falsified.
The European Union criticised “irregularities” in Saturday’s vote and called for an investigation. United States President Joe Biden said he was “deeply alarmed” by democratic “backsliding” in the country.
The electoral commission announced that Georgian Dream won with 54 percent of the vote, amid protests from the pro-Western opposition that denounced the election as a “constitutional coup”.
The prosecutor’s office said the investigation was being opened at the request of the electoral commission, which had previously said that the election was free and fair.
Zourabichvili, who “is believed to possess evidence regarding possible falsification … has been summoned to the investigative agency for an interview” on Thursday, it added.
Zourabichvili declared the election results “illegitimate”, alleging election interference by a “Russian special operation”, a claim that was rejected by the Kremlin.
Election observers, including from the 57-nation Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), have said that the vote was marred by incidents of voter intimidation, bribery and ballot stuffing that could have affected the result, but stopped short of calling it rigged.