The Georgian Dream party won parliamentary election with 54% of the vote, securing 89 seats in the 150-member parliament. This result is announced by the central electoral commission and it has blocked the pro-EU opposition’s ambition to form a coalition and push for Georgia’s EU membership.
GD’s founder, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili celebrated the victory, claiming it underlines the talent of the Georgian people to support stability over external interference.
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Georgia’s pro-EU opposition led by figures like Tina Bokuchava of the United National Movement and Ahali party leader Nika Gvaramia has rejected the results, calling them fraudulent and a constitutional coup.
President Salome Zourabichvili, though largely a ceremonial figure also denounced the election as a Russian special operation and urged Georgians to protest against what she termed a robbery of votes. The opposition calls for a large protest on Monday.
The OSCE’s preliminary report on the election noted issues like intimidation and pressure on voters particularly public sector employees, which raised doubts about free and fair voting.
While the OSCE refrained from labeling the election as fraudulent, Western officials expressed concern over the democratic integrity of the election.
European Council President Charles Michel and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have called for a thorough and transparent investigation into the alleged irregularities, with Blinken urging Georgian leaders to uphold the rule of law.
Since coming to power in 2012, GD has steadily moved Georgia towards a pro-Russia stance, despite 80% of the Georgian public favoring EU membership.
This was reinforced during the election campaign, with GD appealing to conservative values, aligning closely with the Orthodox Church and passing restrictive LGBTQ+ legislation.
GD’s narrative included conspiracy theories about a global war party seeking to drag Georgia into the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Many see Georgia’s political climate as increasingly mirroring Russian authoritarianism with the EU signaling that GD’s stance on democracy poses a barrier to EU membership.
The election outcome is a setback for Georgia’s pro-EU factions, who see GD’s rule as impeding the country’s progress toward Western integration and democracy.
Ivanishvili’s stance against condemning Russia’s Ukraine invasion has strained Georgia’s relations with the EU, contrasting with the opposition’s pro-EU agenda.
While younger, urban voters largely support pro-European opposition, rural areas and conservative regions have backed GD.
Economic stagnation in rural areas has amplified GD’s message, particularly its promises to prevent Georgia from being drawn into international conflicts.
Videos showing incidents of ballot stuffing and intimidation at polling stations circulated widely online. Observers reported election workers being harassed and citizens being coerced at polling stations leading one local monitoring group to demand an annulment of the results, though falsification evidence is still pending.
OSCE noted democratic backsliding but refrained from declaring the results as manipulated, which has emboldened the opposition’s claims of election fraud.
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International bodies such as the OSCE and NDI deployed observers to Georgia, who later reported violations particularly in the pre-election period.
According to Per Eklund, a former EU ambassador and part of the NDI delegation, the presence of voter intimidation up to and on election day compromised the election’s credibility.
The OSCE, which reported on election-day misconduct warned that vote-buying and intimidation raised concerns about Georgia’s commitment to democratic principles.
Georgia’s opposition groups including the Coalition for Change and the United National Movement condemned the election results as fraudulent and vowed to boycott the newly-formed Parliament.
Opposition MP Tina Bokuchava called for the election to be annulled, insisting on a new vote to ensure a government truly representing the will of the people.
Some opposition members, however, refrained from openly supporting the call for a new election.
The Georgian Dream party’s authoritarian policies and alignment with Russian-style laws have raised red flags among Georgia’s European allies.
Recent laws targeting Western-backed human rights groups and branding them as foreign agents, as well as restrictions on references to the LGBTQ+ community.
Observers worry that Georgian Dream’s policies could jeopardize Georgia’s EU membership prospects.
The election has drawn criticism from European leaders with European Council President Charles Michel expressing concern over the reported irregularities.
Michel called for a transparent and independent investigation to address the numerous allegations surrounding the election.
Foreign ministers from Latvia, Estonia and other EU countries voiced their disapproval of the election’s conduct and called for the Georgian government to respect the democratic aspirations of its citizens.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was one of the first international leaders to congratulate Georgian Dream on its victory.
Orbán’s impending visit to Tbilisi shortly after the election is seen as a tacit endorsement of Georgian Dream’s governance.
Orbán’s visit may isolate Georgian Dream from other EU leaders who are critical of the election’s irregularities and are wary of Georgia’s perceived shift toward Moscow.
Hungary’s right-wing leader, Viktor Orbán congratulated GD on its victory. Russian media praised the election results, with pro-Kremlin figures like Margarita Simonyan of RT celebrating what they viewed as a victory for pro-Russian forces in Georgia.
President Zourabichvili has taken a rare stance in directly opposing the GD victory, calling the election a total robbery of votes.
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