The former Soviet republic of Georgia is embroiled in controversy over alleged election fraud. The election was a contest between the pro-European united opposition and the ruling party, which has long advocated closer ties with Russia.
The pro-Russian ruling party achieved a majority of votes. President Salome Zourabichvili, a vocal opponent of the ruling party, immediately asserted that “Russia interfered” in the election.
According to a report by Reuters on Saturday, the pro-Russian ruling party in Georgia’s parliamentary elections defeated the pro-Western opposition coalition, securing a majority of votes.
Based on the announcement from Georgia’s election commission, Reuters reported that “with over 99% of votes counted, the ruling party Georgian Dream received 54% of the votes.”
Bidzina Ivanishvili, leader of the Georgian Dream party, remarked that the ruling party’s success under such challenging circumstances is rare on a global scale and highlights the exceptional capabilities of the Georgian people. Georgian Dream is recognized as the pro-Russian ruling party.
As the vote count results deviated from their expectations, the Georgian opposition rejected the outcome, claiming that several indicators of electoral fraud already existed. The opposition has advocated for Georgia’s membership in the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The opposition alleged that Russia interfered in the election and raised suspicions that the ruling party engaged in electoral fraud, including vote-buying.
The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), an independent election monitoring organization in Georgia, reported detecting violations outside several polling stations.
In Southern Georgia, a video of a voter inserting multiple ballots into a ballot box went viral on social media.
International monitoring groups, including the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and U.S. non-profit organizations such as the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI), stated that “serious violations occurred during the voting process the previous day.” These organizations claimed that ballot box tampering, bribery, voter intimidation, and physical violence near polling stations may have influenced the election.
A representative from the OSCE, appointed by the European Parliament, expressed ongoing concerns over the regression of democracy in Georgia, stating that the circumstances surrounding yesterday’s election further underscore this troubling trend.
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