TBILISI — Preliminary results from the country’s Oct. 26 elections show that the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party is set to expand its parliamentary control, but a clear gap in the exit polls has led to a shift from pro-Western parties to "stolen elections”. ” protests that provoked cries of.
Georgian Dream, led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, won just over 54% of the vote, with more than 99% of electoral votes counted. According to the initial results announced by the Central Election Commission on October 27, the four opposition parties are in a position to break through the 5% threshold to secure seats.
The opposition parties (Coalition for Change, Unite to Save Georgia, Strong Georgia, For Georgia) collectively received just over 37 percent of the vote.
Opposition protests intensified after the vote, and exit polls conducted on behalf of pro-government and anti-government groups showed vastly different results.
WATCH: Georgia’s pro-Western opposition leaders say they will not recognize the results of the country’s October 26 parliamentary elections, claiming vital votes were “stolen”.
An exit poll conducted by the pro-government Imedi TV showed Georgian Dream’s approval rating at 56%, while two opposition exit polls showed it did not receive more than 42% support.
The final results will be announced on October 27th.
Preliminary results show Georgian Dream will win 89 seats in the 150-seat lower house, enough to hold on to the government but not enough for an absolute majority to make major constitutional changes.
The United National Movement, which heads the “Unity-To Save Georgia” coalition, immediately rejected the results reported by Georgia election officials.
“On behalf of the National Unity Movement, I would like to announce that we do not accept the results of a stolen election; nor do we intend to recognize the results of this stolen election,” Party Chairman Tina Bokučava said in an early morning statement on October 27. ” he said. .
He called on other opposition parties to stand firm against the reported results, adding that “massive protests” were likely to occur later in the day.
Strong Georgian leader Mamuka Khazaradze insisted that the opposition’s election victory was crucial for the Caucasian nation’s future path in Europe.
“Congratulations on the defeat of the Russian government in Georgia!” he said after voting closed.
Nika Gvaramia, a member of the Coalition for Change, said her organization does not recognize the results posted and called the process a “coup.”
For the first time, Georgia used a new electronic vote tabulation system with paper backup, allowing results to be released just hours after polls closed at 8 p.m. local time. The election commission said there were only minor deficiencies.
Commission spokeswoman Natia Yosseliani earlier told the media that voting took place in a total of 3,111 polling stations in “calm conditions” despite “minor technical glitches”.
The commission said turnout was nearly 59%, the highest since Georgian Dream came to power in 2012.
Perhaps in an effort to deter street protests, Tbilisi Mayor Kaka Karadze, a member of Georgian Dream, opposed any “illegal” actions “will be met with a very harsh reaction from the state.” warned the faction.
President Salome Zurabishvili, who has broken with the ruling party and supports anti-government protests, said: social media The “Georgia of Europe” opposition party “won with 52 percent despite attempts at electoral fraud and the absence of votes from the diaspora.”
However, former prime minister Ivanishvili, who founded Georgian Dream, congratulated his supporters following the release of Imedi TV’s exit poll.
“It is rare to find a political party anywhere in the world that has achieved such success in such difficult circumstances,” he said. “I guarantee you, our country will be very successful in the next four years. In four years we will accomplish a lot, and in another four years Georgia will be one of the most successful countries in the world.”
The vote was cast as a defining moment for the country, which gained independence from Moscow 30 years ago.
Georgian Dream portrayed the election as a choice between peace and war, arguing that an opposition victory would drag Georgia into a new war with Russia. The two countries engaged in a brief war in August 2008, which strengthened Russia’s control over parts of Georgian territory.
Opposition parties framed the vote as a choice between the West and Russia, democracy and authoritarianism, an argument echoed by U.S. and European officials who have criticized the Georgian Dream as a democratic backsliding. is.
Tensions escalated in the run-up to the vote, with Georgian Dream newspaper claiming Western countries were interfering in the election and opposition parties accusing Russia of spreading disinformation.
street violence
Scuffles and allegations of fraud surfaced during voting.
RFE/RL correspondents reported on the incident in the southern city of Marnouri. There, an opposition lawmaker was allegedly punched by a Georgian Dream representative at a polling station amid reports of inflated ballots.
In the city of Rustavi, about 20 kilometers southeast of Tbilisi, RFE/RL correspondent Davit Muchedridze was harassed and prevented from doing his job by an unidentified person who tried to take his cell phone away from him at a polling station.
Witnesses told RFE/RL that the unidentified individuals were on the premises of the police station in violation of the law. A witness told RFE/RL that they called the police, but no one came.
The observation team from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which was monitoring the election, will hold a press conference on October 27 to announce its opinion on the fairness of the vote.
The Young Lawyers Association, a non-governmental organization, said it had identified “serious violations” of the electoral process, including physical violence, threats of violence, obstruction of poll watchers and violations of voting secrecy.
The group said its monitors had recorded around 300 “instances of misconduct”.
Russia’s reaction
Georgian Dream was founded by Georgia’s richest man, Ivanishvili, who made his fortune in Russia.
After the vote, Ivanishvili called on Georgians to attend and vote in large numbers, while accusing the opposition of serving an unnamed “foreign country” that would drag Georgia into war with Russia.
“We have a very simple choice: either choose a government that will serve the Georgian people, Georgian society and protect the country, or choose a foreign agent who will only obey orders from foreign countries.” Ivanishvili said, adding that Georgia would face “catastrophe and ruin.”
The Kremlin has made no secret of its desire for a victory for the Georgian Dream.
Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of the Kremlin-funded news agencies RT and Sputnik, welcomed the election results.
“Georgians won! Well done,” she tweeted, alluding to Western intervention.
Opinion polls show Georgians broadly support membership in the EU and NATO, but are keen to avoid conflict with Russia and are deeply conservative on issues such as LGBT rights.
Among the controversial bills passed by Georgian Dream is a law that would require organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as a “foreign agent.”
Opponents called it the “Russian law” and described it as authoritarian and inspired by similar laws used to suppress dissent in Russia.
The bill’s passage earlier this year sparked mass protests and prompted the United States to impose sanctions on several Georgians and threaten to cut off aid to Tbilisi.
The European Union’s ambassador to Tbilisi said in September that the EU could consider temporarily lifting the visa-free regime with Georgia if elections were “not free and fair.”
There are other controversial laws that suppress gay rights.
“This is a referendum between war and peace, immoral propaganda and traditional values. A referendum between the country’s dark past and its bright future,” Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said after the vote.
opposition group
New election rules introduced ahead of the vote require a party or coalition to win at least 5% of the vote to advance to parliament. This has given Georgia’s opposition parties an incentive to form a coalition government that is likely to exceed that threshold.
The four main opposition groups are targeting the ruling party rather than each other with a common goal of ending Georgian Dream’s 12-year rule and reviving Georgia’s stalled bid to join the European Union. directed.
They said that if the opposition won, they would allow Zurabishvili to form a technocratic government that would restore good relations with the West and repeal the most authoritarian laws passed by Georgian Dream in the run-up to the election campaign. was in agreement.
Zurabishvili’s largely ceremonial role has been at odds with the Georgian dream.
