In an interview with ‘Euronews’ after the publication of the election results, Georgian MP Maka Botchorishvili, from the ruling Georgian Dream party, says that the technology implemented leaves little room for speculation about alleged electoral “fraud.”
The ruling party of Georgia, Georgian Dream, has declared itself the winner of Saturday’s elections by obtaining a majority of 53.92% of the votesaccording to data from the Central Election Commission. But opposition parties have been quick to challenge the results, claiming the election was “rigged.”
In response to criticism from observers, who denounced violations of electoral rulesincluding intimidation and interference, Georgia’s EU Integration Commission argued that the electoral process was fair and left little room for speculation.
Georgian MP Maka Bochorishvili stated that “all conditions of competitiveness were met by the Georgian authorities and Georgia in general”, allowing Georgian citizens the freedom to choose whoever they wanted. He added that “all political parties had the chance to campaign, and the chance to attract the trust of Georgian citizens.”
It was the first time that polling stations were equipped with electronic scanners at the pollsBotchorishvili said that the technology was intended to safeguard the results of the elections and that “this electronic system was introduced to limit the space for speculation.”
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) deployed 529 observers for Georgiaincluding a delegation of 12 from the European Parliament. The observers were there to analyze the pre-election environment, including monitoring media coverage of the election campaign, and the proceedings of Election Day itself.
Botchorishvili acknowledged that observers reported several incidentsbut said that it was necessary to present concrete examples to identify a possible problem.
A future in the EU?
Looking ahead, Botchorishvili said the ruling party wants to move forward along the European path “peacefully and with dignity.” “(We want) to put into practice what we promised to our citizens of move forward peacefully with dignity and with economic development and with better conditions for our citizens towards the European Union,” he added.
The European Union has previously frozen Georgia’s accession path due to several laws promoted by the ruling party, including the “foreign agents” law, which the EU considered incompatible with European values.
Asked how the Georgian Dream would improve its relationship with the EU, in particular regarding these laws considered incompatible, Botchorishvili said that the law “It’s about transparency, and nothing more“, and that his party is willing to demonstrate that the law will not create any problems.
“The sole objective of this legislation is to inform Georgian society and maintain transparency of the political processas well as safeguarding the democratic development of Georgia”, adding that “it is absolutely important to maintain stable democratic development in Georgia to guarantee our European future. So transparency is one of the things that will help and not the other way around.”
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