Pro-Russian ruling party heads to victory in Georgia, disputes opposition results

The ruling Georgian party, <a href="https://www.world-today-news.com/both-the-ruling-party-and-the-opposition-are-announcing-the-victory-in-the-georgian-parliamentary-elections/" title="Both the ruling party and the opposition are announcing the victory in the Georgian parliamentary elections“>Georgian Dream, looks set to win the country’s parliamentary elections, although the opposition is contesting the results. Two-thirds of the votes have been counted and the ruling non-Russian party is on course to win with 53 percent of the votes, according to the electoral council. The turnout was around 59 percent. Some of the paper ballots and the votes of Georgians abroad have not yet been counted.

Exit polls from earlier this evening showed two starkly different results. Both sides were quickly victorious. Some exit polls, including the camp of the opposition parties, showed a 6 percentage point advantage for the opposition.

There is a lot at stake in the country in today’s elections, which are a battle between pro-European and pro-Russian positions. The ruling Georgian Dream party has recently taken an authoritarian position and is moving towards neighboring Russia. The party also regularly expresses anti-EU rhetoric.

The opposition parties, who want to join the European Union as soon as possible, are afraid that the government will do everything they can to stay in power. In August, Georgian Dream announced its intention to ban all opposition if the party wins an absolute majority.

In the past few months, several laws have been approved that violate freedom of expression, limit LGBT rights and censor the media. The European Parliament said there is a “democratic backslide” in Georgia. Negotiations on EU accession have also been suspended for this reason.

Citizen observer Jelger Groeneveld is in Georgia and seeing the election results up close. There is a tense atmosphere among the opposition parties, he sees. “Of course there was a party feel at the start of the exit polls. After a provisional count by the electoral commission, there was a feeling of resignation: people are disappointed, because they thought this was an opportunity for the opposition. It was a bit of a now or never feeling.”

Opposition leaders will meet later this evening to prepare a joint response. “They are looking at how this could have happened. The result is difficult to reconcile with political developments in the country. What happens mostly is that the rural areas, the regions- a smaller election where minorities also live, voting for the George Dream.”

Four years ago, the opposition had difficulty accepting the result, Groeneveld explains. “And that has also damaged reputations. They have to find a vocabulary that shows they can accept it.”