According to the CEC of Georgia, in the parliamentary elections, the ruling party 'Georgian Dream' gains 54% of the votes after processing 99.6% of the protocols. Four more parties overcame the five percent threshold: 'Coalition for Change', uniting three opposition parties, receives 10.92%, 'United National Movement' — 10.12%, 'Strong Georgia' — 8.78%, and 'Gakharia — For Georgia' — 7.76%.
Despite 'Georgian Dream' losing to the united opposition in many districts of Tbilisi and abroad, in some rural areas its lead was up to 90%.
Last night, after the announcement of preliminary voting results, 'United National Movement' and 'Coalition for Change' reported that they do not recognize the results and announced mass protests, writes Reuters.
The leader of the opposition party 'Coalition for Change', Nika Gvamarija, called these elections a 'constitutional coup'. 'The Georgian people voted for the European future of the country, and therefore we will not accept these falsified results published by the CEC', stated the leader of the 'United National Movement'.
The Georgian election observer coalition 'We Vote' stated that in their opinion the election results 'do not reflect the will of the citizens of Georgia', citing numerous reports of voter intimidation and vote-buying. 'We will continue to demand the annulment of the results', the coalition's statement says.
The group of independent observers Transparency International Georgia also did not recognize the elections, noting that it is difficult to falsify election results in Georgia directly at the polling stations since an electronic voting system is installed there. As a result, other methods of influencing the election outcome are more often used. The organization's statement indicated that in the first half of the day, voters were massively issued two or more ballots, and there were also cases where ballots were already selected in favor of the ruling party.
'During the day, unprecedented pressure was exerted on representatives of observer organizations. There were physical attacks, insults, intimidation, and unjustified removal from polling stations', noted Transparency International Georgia.
The conservative party 'Georgian Dream', founded by businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili, has been in power since 2012. In June, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, signed the law on 'foreign agents', despite numerous protests. The rallies ended with dispersals of participants and clashes with the police. Due to the adoption of the 'foreign agents' law, the European Council suspended Georgia's EU accession process.
This fall, the Georgian Parliament adopted a package of laws banning same-sex marriages, transgender transition, 'LGBT propaganda', and prides 'popularizing same-sex relationships'. Most representatives of opposition parties declared a boycott and did not attend the session.
As noted by Reuters, if Ivanishvili's party's victory is confirmed, it will be a blow to the EU's hopes of attracting new former Soviet republics into its orbit.
Photo: RBC