A Member of the European Parliament Nathalie Loiseau has raised serious allegations regarding election misconduct in Marneuli, a city in the Kvemo Kartli region of southern Georgia, during Georgia’s October 26 parliamentary elections, describing the situation as a “true festival of fraud.” Loiseau, who was part of an international observation team, reported witnessing large-scale ballot-stuffing, vote-buying, and intimidation tactics at polling stations.
Loiseau said ruling Georgian Dream representatives were seen openly stuffing ballot boxes, even forcing in ballots despite the boxes being overfilled. “One man arrived with ballots, forcing them into the box with all his strength because there was no more room,” she said. Loiseau added that the actions took place in full view of both Georgian and international observers.
She further noted that observers documented “a wide array of fraud,” stating that she visited ten polling stations and that over 500 international monitors were present. Describing her experience in Marneuli, Loiseau recounted scenes of vote-buying outside polling stations, with cash exchanges reportedly occurring under tables set up with refreshments to mask the activity. According to her, people who had already voted and displayed a photo of a ballot marked for Georgian Dream were paid.
Other allegations included voters being pressured to take photos of their ballots as proof of their vote, and widespread voter intimidation. Loiseau noted that released prisoners and criminals were allegedly stationed near voting sites, with lists of voters to track turnout. “They would call family members if someone hadn’t shown up, pressuring them to vote,” she stated, emphasizing the intimidation was so overt that even international monitors could not prevent it.
“Many citizens had their ID cards confiscated. Many went to vote using someone else’s ID, and, I repeat, this was happening right in front of us, without any attempt to hide it. There was even an incident where a man came with a woman’s ID card, and I told him, ‘No, sir, you cannot vote with a woman’s document.’ But we knew that as soon as we turned our backs, the same or even worse would continue,” said Nathalie Loiseau.
