Georgia’s ruling party wins a contentious election although irregularities are noted by observers

The electoral commission announced on Sunday that Georgia’s ruling party had won about 54% of the vote in Saturday’s parliamentary election, despite opposition parties contesting the outcome and vote monitors pointing to serious irregularities.

With nearly every precinct counted, the outcome was a setback for pro-Western Georgians who had framed the election as a contest between an opposition seeking to expedite European integration and a government party that has strengthened ties with Russia.

According to the commission, ruling Georgian Dream, which is currently running for a fourth term in government, will obtain 89 seats in parliament, one fewer than it did in 2020. Four pro-Western opposition parties will receive 61 seats overall.

Three different monitoring missions—the 57-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), another that included the National Democratic Institute and the International Republican Institute, two U.S. nonprofit organizations, and an election monitor from Georgia, ISFED—reported a number of violations on Sunday.

The organizations did not go so far as to label the outcome illegitimate, but they acknowledged that the alleged violations—such as ballot stuffing, bribery, voter intimidation, and violence near polling places—may have had an impact on the outcome.

“We continue to express deep concerns about the democratic backsliding in Georgia,” stated Antonio Lopez-Isturiz White, who led the delegation of the European Parliament to the OSCE mission.

“The conduct of yesterday’s election is unfortunately evidence to that effect,” he stated to reporters.

Requests for reaction were not immediately answered by the electoral commission, which on Saturday praised a free and fair election. According to Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, the findings of the observers demonstrated that the validity of the election was beyond question.

Some members of the four pro-Western opposition parties called for followers to take to the streets and threatened to boycott the new parliament, while others stated they did not recognize the results.

“A constitutional coup” and “usurpation of power” are the terms used by Coalition for Change opposition party leader Nika Gvaramia to describe the vote. Two exit polls that indicated the opposition would win a majority of parliamentary seats were highlighted by his party.

Tina Bokuchava, the leader of the opposition United National Movement party, declared that the election had been “stolen” and called for demonstrations.

EU EXPANSION DIFFICULTIES

Bidzina Ivanishvili, the reticent millionaire founder of Georgian Dream, who spoke out strongly against Georgia’s involvement in the conflict in Ukraine, celebrated the party’s triumph on Saturday night following its best showing since 2012.

According to electoral commission figures, it did poorly in larger cities but won by enormous percentages of up to 90% in some rural areas.

Georgian Dream claims it wants Georgia to become a member of the European Union, but Brussels claims the Caucasus nation’s application has been blocked because of the party’s alleged authoritarian inclinations.

A law restricting LGBT rights and another on “foreign agents” were passed by it; both were hailed by some Russian authorities but received harsh criticism from Western nations.

According to polls, many Georgians dislike Russia for supporting two breakaway areas of their country, making Georgia one of the most pro-Western nations to leave the Soviet Union for years.

In 2008, Georgia and Russia engaged in a short-lived conflict over the rebellious South Ossetia province. Georgia lost.

However, the outcome of the election challenges the EU’s goal of attracting more former Soviet states.

In a vote that Moldovan officials claimed was tainted by Russian meddling, the country barely approved its EU entry last week.

There was “a sense of disappointment” over the Georgian opposition’s performance, an EU official told Reuters, but Brussels was more worried about a disputed outcome that would end in a standoff.

The foreign ministries of Latvia, Estonia, and Germany expressed alarm over the reports of anomalies in the election.

The Georgian administration announced that Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, would be visiting the nation on Monday. Orban was quick to applaud Georgian Dream.