U.S. And European Partners Discuss 'Appropriate Body' To Investigate Election Rigging Claims in Georgia (Video)

The United States said Monday that its calls for full probe into reported election violations do not mean Georgian authorities should investigate them, but rather an “appropriate body”, which is yet to be determined, TURAN’s Washington correspondent reports.

“We are consulting with our European partners about what an appropriate body to conduct such an investigation might be,” State Department’s spokesperson Matthew Miller told a daily briefing when responding to TURAN’s questions.

The Biden administration will be keeping a close eye on what Georgia’s government does in the days ahead. Washington does not have a final assessment of the results of the October 26 elections, but Miller did not rule out further consequences if the Georgian government’s direction does not change.

“Georgia’s actions will determine our responses. We have had our relationship with Georgia under review for some months now.  You have seen us already suspend $95 million in assistance to the Government of Georgia.  We have other assistance that remains under review,” Miller said.

The spokesperson’s comments came as tens of thousands of Georgians massed outside Tbilisi parliament Monday night, demanding the annulment of the weekend election that the president has alleged was rigged with the help of Russia.

“We obviously support everyone’s right to peacefully protest,,,” Miller said, urging authorities to fully respect Georgians’ right to peacefully assemble.

“And we want to see a full investigation of the alleged irregularities in the election,” he concluded.

In Europe, ministers of 13 EU member states have issued a joint statement sharing Georgian protesters’ concerns and demanding an impartial inquiry of complaints and remedy of the violations established.

“We stand in this difficult time at the side of Georgians,” reads the statement, which was signed by the foreign ministers and ministers for European affairs of Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Sweden.

“The violations of electoral integrity are incompatible with the standards expected from a candidate to the European Union. They are a betrayal of the Georgian people’s legitimate European aspiration,” the authors added.

“Upholding the rule of law and free and fair elections is integral to any progress on Georgia’s EU path.” reads the letter.

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