Salome Samadashvili, a leader of the opposition party Strong Georgia coalition, on Friday accused representatives of the ruling party, Georgian Dream, of trying to obstruct more than 2,000 Georgian citizens from voting in a “crucial election” on Saturday at the only polling station opened in Israel.
During a press briefing, Samadashvili alleged that Lasha Zhvania, the former Georgian ambassador to Israel, is orchestrating a “special operation” allegedly aimed at denying these citizens their voting rights and “undermining the democratic future of Georgia”.
Samadashvili claimed the GD representatives on the election commission plan to abstain from attending on election day, a move that would “effectively paralyze the polling process”. She emphasized that “interfering with citizens’ constitutional rights is a criminal offense and vowed that anyone attempting to impede the electoral process would be held accountable”.
“There are only 30 hours left before the Georgian people’s victory,” she stressed, expressing confidence that voters would choose a European future for Georgia in the upcoming elections.
Samadashvili accused the “Russian-aligned [GD] regime” of fearing defeat and attempting to block the votes of Georgians abroad, asserting that they were aware they would lose the election.
Giorgi Sioridze, another leader from Strong Georgia, raised additional concerns over alleged procedural disruptions within the election commission. He revealed that Zaza Sokhaneishvili, the chair of the Ramat Gan polling station, had recently submitted a resignation letter. Furthermore, Sioridze claimed other key members, including the deputy and secretary of the commission, also indicated they would not attend the election, raising concerns about the commission’s ability to function.
For the commission to operate, at least nine out of its 17 members must be present. However, according to a September 11 resolution from the Central Election Commission (CEC), if the number of attending members falls below nine, a special committee can be established to conduct the election, requiring at least seven members.
