South Caucasus Republic: Georgia’s President calls parliamentary election fraudulent

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has criticized the results of the parliamentary elections in her country as being completely distorted. She did not recognize the result, she said in Tbilisi and called for protests on Monday. The electoral commission had previously declared the ruling party of the richest and most powerful man in the country, Bidzina Ivanishvili, the winner with almost 54 percent of the vote. This brings the conflict between the pro-Western opposition and the increasingly national-conservative government party to a head in Russia’s small neighboring country in the South Caucasus.

International observers criticized numerous irregularities in Saturday’s election. Three opposition alliances declared that they would not take up their mandates. “We will not give legitimacy to the theft of votes from the Georgian people, we are giving up our parliamentary mandates,” said Nana Malaschchia from the Coalition for Change, according to media reports.

Ivanishvili, on the other hand, presented himself as the winner shortly after the polls closed in Tbilisi. The traditionally divided opposition fears that Georgia, under the leadership of the oligarch who has become rich in Moscow, will turn even more towards its neighbor Russia and finally deviate from its EU course.

A total of around 3.5 million Georgians at home and abroad were called to vote. According to preliminary information, voter turnout was around 59 percent – three percentage points higher than in 2020. The country on the Black Sea has 3.7 million inhabitants and has been a candidate for EU membership since the end of 2023. However, the accession process is on hold due to controversial laws.

Ruling party fueled fears of war with Russia

The ruling Georgian Dream party promised peace and stability during the election campaign – and fueled fears of war with Russia if the opposition won. Prime Minister Iraqi Kobachidze rejected allegations of election fraud. “Our victory is obvious,” he said. Even in the past votes, the opposition never had the size to admit defeat. The Georgian Dream party has been in power since 2012.

Kobachidze received congratulations on the victory from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and from his neighbors in the South Caucasus: Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. According to the Georgian government, Orban is expected on Monday for a two-day visit to Tbilisi.

Opposition alliances want to fight for victory

The pro-Western opposition alliances announced that they would fight for victory. Although they are at odds with each other, their common goal is to get rid of the 68-year-old billionaire Ivanishvili and take a pro-EU course. The election management only obeyed Ivanishvili’s orders, said the head of the United National Movement party, Tinatin Bokuchava. However, the current President Zurabishvili’s legal options to influence events are limited. It can refuse to convene the new parliament for its constituent session. However, Georgian Dream announced that, according to the constitution, it would meet for the first time ten days later without a president.

OSCE observers criticize Georgia’s election

International and Georgian election observers criticized a variety of violations. The pro-European alliance Myvote, made up of various non-governmental and human rights organizations, complained that the result did not reflect the will of the voters.

On the other hand, despite repeated questions from journalists, the election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) did not clearly determine whether the vote was fair and free. They pointed out that there were 18 lists of candidates on the ballot papers, including many opposition alliances. However, they complained about democratic regression compared to previous votes, including in electoral legislation.

The OSCE mission expressed concern about numerous irregularities. The experts complained, among other things, of intimidation of voters, pressure on authorities, violence against observers, vote buying, multiple voting and the stuffing of ballot papers into ballot boxes. The OSCE called for an investigation and called for further democratic reforms.

At the same time, head of mission Pascal Allizard praised the “democratic vitality” in the country and promised further help on the country’s path to the EU. Overall, the vote was well organized, said the Frenchman. Other observers also highlighted that civil society as a whole was strongly present to control the voting and counting.

EU accuses Georgia’s government of taking an anti-European course

The government blames the largest opposition party, the United National Movement, for the war with Russia in 2008 and wants to ban it. At that time, Russia recognized the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. Georgia lost 20 percent of its territory.

The EU accuses the country’s leadership of taking an anti-European course, and human rights activists have also complained about authoritarian tendencies. Despite massive protests, the government pushed through laws similar to those in Russia – including one to control the financing of non-governmental organizations and media from abroad, which is intended to prevent alleged influence from outside. The rights of gays, lesbians and other sexual minorities were also curtailed – to the delight of the Georgian Orthodox Church, which continues to have great influence in the country.