TBILISI, Georgia (WS News) — Georgia’s opposition disputed the results of its election Saturday after officials said the ruling party led the crucial vote which could decide whether the country pivots to embrace the West or falls back into Russia’s orbit.
Many Georgians viewed the vote as a make-or-break referendum on the opportunity to join the European Union. Initial figures suggest turnout is the highest since the ruling Georgian Dream party was first elected in 2012.
Georgia’s Central Election Commission said Georgian Dream won 52.99% with the majority of votes counted. Not all paper ballots and votes cast by Georgians abroad have been counted, and it is unclear when a final result could be announced.
Georgian Dream stood against four main opposition groups, which indicated they did not accept the results. The opposition initially declared victory shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m. local time (1600 GMT).
If Georgian Dream’s win is confirmed, the party will have a parliamentary majority which will stoke fears about the country’s bid for EU membership. The party has become increasingly authoritarian, adopting laws which are similar to those used by Russia to crack down on freedom of speech. After one such law was passed earlier this year, Brussels suspended Georgia’s EU membership process.
She indicated the opposition would not recognize the results and “will fight like never before to reclaim our European future.”
Georgian electoral observers who stationed thousands of people across the country to monitor the vote said there were multiple violations and the results “do not correspond to the will of the Georgian people.”
The pre-election campaign in the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million people, which borders Russia, was dominated by foreign policy and marked by a bitter fight for votes and allegations of a smear campaign.
Some Georgians complained of intimidation and being pressured to vote for Georgian Dream, while the opposition accused the party of carrying out a “hybrid war” against its citizens.
