Elections in Georgia: Georgian president refuses to appear for questioning by prosecutors, mentions Russia's influence

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has declined to attend the prosecutor's office for questioning. The office had previously announced the launch of an investigation into potential fraud in the 26 October parliamentary elections.

Source: Zourabichvili at a press conference, as reported by European Pravda, citing Georgian news outlet SOVA.news

Details: The Georgian president remarked that her summons to the prosecutor's office "strangely coincides" with comments made by Dmitry Medvedev, former President of the Russian Federation and Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council, who had previously called for her "removal from office and arrest."

Quote from Zourabichvili: "I am addressing the prosecutor's office: you are accountable to the public. The public demands an immediate investigation from you, not my evidence, and no one expects the prosecutor's office to initiate processes which are overtly political against the president in this situation."

Details: She emphasised that she was not planning to appear before the prosecutor's office and urged it to "steer clear of political point-scoring".

"As president, I will continue my work, and I am not going to report to the prosecutor's office," Zourabichvili said.

Background:

• On 30 October, the Georgian Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into the possible rigging of the parliamentary elections.
• The opposition parties are not recognising the election results, stating that the ruling Georgian Dream party "stole" them, and are calling for large-scale protests.

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