Georgia"s State Security Service Alerts of "Criminal Plot" to Interfere with Presidential Elections

The State Security Service of Georgia issued a warning on Tuesday about a "planned criminal plot" intended to disrupt the upcoming presidential elections, which are scheduled for Saturday, The Caspian Post reports citing local media.

The agency claimed organisers of the alleged criminal acts were "determined to prevent the election process from taking place and to hinder the election of Georgia"s next president by any means possible".

The SSS said the "criminal organisers" were planning to "escalate tensions, particularly on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday" of this week, and a "partial activity on Friday", "hoping to provoke violent confrontations", and highlighted the "goal of this escalation is to create victims in the process".

In the interests of state security and peaceful coexistence of citizens, we have repeatedly shared with the public the materials obtained by the investigation into the case, initiated by the SSS on the fact of [plans for a] violent overthrow of the state Government", it said.

The agency alleged the ongoing protests outside the Georgian Parliament in Tbilisi, sparked by the Government"s decision in late November to postpone the country"s European Union accession talks until 2028, had "started to lose momentum", with a "group of local actors expected to activate, pushing an agenda to artificially escalate the protests".

It claimed the group intended to "use the unrest as a means of violently overthrowing the Government".

The agency further clarified potential conspirators were considering escalating the situation to the point where "deaths of two to three people" would "serve as a catalyst for further unrest".

With these sacrifices, they will try to increase the protest charge, encouraging radical sentiments, which, according to their intention, should develop into uncontrolled processes and be blamed on the Government in a disguised way", the agency asserted.

These individuals have been involved in violent acts against law enforcement officers and civilians, both at and outside the protest locations", the SSS said, adding "of particular note is the attack on journalists from one of the television stations [this week], which we consider to be one of the probable episodes of the aforementioned criminal plan, which fortunately ended without casualties. The current case is being investigated by the Special Investigation Service".

The statement also revealed the SSS was cooperating with the Special Investigation Service to "uncover the full truth behind these incidents", adding it was doing "everything in power to ensure the safety of the election process and protect democratic institutions".