EC’s report confirms that allegations against Election Administration, conduct of elections were unfounded

“The European Commission’s report confirmed that widely circulated assertions made by certain local monitoring organizations or politically biased individuals regarding alleged election fraud were unfounded and aimed solely at discrediting the elections,” reads the statement of the Georgian Central Election Commission (CEC).

“Since the Parliamentary Elections, for over a year, several politically biased individuals have actively sought to discredit the Election Administration (EA) and, more broadly, the October 26 elections. To this end, they have continued to assert that these elections were allegedly rigged, that the secrecy of the vote was violated, that instances of multiple voting occurred, etc.

It should be noted that throughout the entire year, none of the interested parties claiming that the elections were allegedly rigged have been able to present any evidence, including to the Prosecutor’s Office or the courts.

Unlike them, the EA has repeatedly responded to the circulating allegations based strictly on facts, evidence, and the results of a compliance audit conducted by a reputable American organization. It has provided the public with accurate, verified, and objective information and has consistently confirmed that the elections were conducted in accordance with the law and international standards. We would also like to remind that the final assessment by OSCE/ODIHR notes that, overall, Election Day was well-organized from a procedural standpoint and proceeded in an orderly manner.

The fact that the widely circulated assertions made by certain local monitoring organizations or politically biased individuals regarding alleged election fraud were unfounded and aimed solely at discrediting the elections has now been confirmed by the European Commission’s report. As is publicly known, the European Commission published its report on EU enlargement, which, among other issues, also addresses last year’s elections. However, this report does not mention the aforementioned allegations concerning the administration of the elections.

We now ask those who sought to convince the public that voters could cast their ballots seven or even a hundred times, that there were duplications in the lists in the machines, that the secrecy of the vote was violated, that summary protocols were falsified, that polling stations abroad were deliberately not established, that ballot markers were replaced, and many other such claims—why were none of these allegations mentioned in either the European Commission’s or OSCE/ODIHR’s reports?

The answer is clear: none of the aforementioned claims corresponded to reality. They represented a deliberate attempt to distort the facts, create misconceptions, undermine public confidence in the elections, and discredit the Election Administration.

We also note that such manipulative statements made by politically motivated stakeholders are not limited to elections but have been made on various other issues as well. This contributes to the dissemination of misleading information and the formation of inaccurate perceptions among the public.

The Election Administration calls on all stakeholders to finally acknowledge reality and return to the standard of impartiality in assessing electoral processes. We, for our part, will remain committed to our stated goal of ensuring that the country’s voters are thoroughly and accurately informed on matters related to the electoral process,” reads the statement.