Presidential candidate Badri Patarkatsishvili has officially been charged with attempting to overthrow the government and other crimes, according to the Georgian General Prosecutor's office.

On January 10, the office issued a statement that Patarkatsishvili has been charged with several serious crimes against the state, including planning a "terrorist act" and "masterminding a terrorist act." Patarkatsishvili is currently out of the country; no comment about the charges was available from his campaign office. The prosecutor's office stated that his family has been informed of the charges in his absence.

According to Georgian election law, a presidential candidate is immune from arrest, being questioned or being held for questioning unless the prosecutor's office has received permission from the Central Election Commission (CEC).

CEC Chairman Levan Tarkhnishvili told EurasiaNet that Patarkatsishvili still enjoys that immunity since the elections have not officially ended. Tarkhnishvili stated that no one from the prosecutor's office has contacted him about Patarkatsishvili, or any charges pending against him.

According to preliminary election results, Patarkatsishvili is in a distant third place with just under 7 percent of the vote. A final official vote count is due by January 13.

Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Keti Akhalkatsi, however, affirmed that Patarkatsishvili's candidacy does not "interfere" with the government's case against him. She claimed that "more evidence" has been found against the tycoon since earlier accusations surfaced last month, though would not release details.

Allegations against the tycoon-turned-politician first surfaced in October 2007 following accusations by former Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili that former President Mikheil Saakashvili had asked for him to "liquidate" Patarkatsishvili.

This is the third time the prosecutor's office has tried to implicate Patarkatsishvili in crimes against the state. On November 8, following the government's decision to close Imedi television, a station associated with the tycoon, the prosecutor's office announced it was investigating Patarkatsishvili as a possible suspect in an alleged coup attempt. Officials alleged that the London-based businessman had used Imedi "as a tool" on November 7 to instigate civil unrest and to attempt a government overthrow. Patarkatsishvili denied the allegations and no official charges were brought against him.

In December, however, the government released new evidence; on December 24 and 26 prosecutors released a series of secretly recorded video and audio tapes that purported to be of Interior Ministry official Erkekli Kodua holding two separate conversations with Patarkatsishvili and his former campaign manager, Valeri Gelbakhiani, about plans for protest actions after the January 5 elections that would involve "neutralizing" Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili.

Patarkatsishvili also denied those charges, maintaining that he offered to pay Kodua $100 million in an effort to avoid "bloodshed" in the event of post-election protests. However, Imedi staff announced on December 26 that the station would take a "pause" during the election period to distance themselves from "political dirty games."

At the time, officials announced that they had no plans to move against Patarkatsishvili or to attempt to obstruct his bid for the presidency during the January 5 elections.

The opposition has watched the interplay between prosecutors and the Patarkatsishvili campaign with concern. After the broadcast of the December recordings, questions were raised on Georgian television about frequent trips made to London by such prominent opposition leaders as presidential candidate Davit Gamkrelidze and members of the nine-party coalition backing rival candidate Levan Gachechiladze, who was widely considered the race's opposition frontrunner. Both the Gamkrelidze and Gachechiladze camps disavowed any formal connection with the Georgia-born billionaire.