Published: October 26, 2024 at 8:05 PM Last updated: October 26, 2024 at 8:24 PM
The party is reported to have received 53 percent support, compared to the opposition’s 38.8 percent.
This stands in contrast to two election day polls that show a clear lead for the coalition of EU-friendly opposition parties in the country.
On Saturday, the citizens of Georgia went to the polls to elect a new national assembly and determine the country’s future. Both political camps were quick to declare victory on Saturday.
The election is referred to as a pivotal election for the small neighboring country to Russia. A victory for the opposition could lead Georgia back on track towards EU membership, while a win for the ruling party, Georgian Dream, could result in the country falling even closer into Russia’s orbit.
Leads in two polls
An election day poll from Formula TV gives the ruling party 41 percent support and the coalition of opposition parties 52 percent.
A poll from the TV channel Mtavari Arkhi shows a similar picture, with 42 percent support for the ruling party Georgian Dream and 48 percent for the opposition parties.
However, a poll from the government-friendly Imedi TV, reported by the Russian news agency Tass, shows 56.1 percent support for Georgian Dream, according to Reuters.
Pivotal election
After the polls were released, both Bidzina Ivanishvili – the billionaire who founded the ruling party Georgian Dream and made his fortune in Russia – and the EU-friendly president Salome Zurabishvili came out to declare victory.
– The European Georgia wins the election with 52 percent support, the president wrote in a message on X.
The leader of the coalition of opposition parties, Tina Bokutsjava, also states that Georgian Dream has lost the election.
– Most people will take Bidzina Ivanishvili’s claims of having a majority with a grain of salt, she says.
– We will wait for the final, official count, but the loser should have the manners to admit defeat and step down, Bokutsjava continued.
– Risk of unrest
Throughout the election, there have been accusations of electoral fraud and threats against voters. President Zurabishvili stated that there had been deeply concerning episodes of violence at some polling stations.
A video circulating on social media showed a brawl between several dozen unidentified men outside a polling station in a suburb of Tbilisi.
– If the ruling party tries to hold onto power regardless of the election outcome, there is a risk of unrest after the election, warned analyst Gela Vasadze from the Georgian Center for Strategic Analysis ahead of Saturday’s election, according to AFP.
Some Georgians have said they were pressured to vote for the ruling party. The opposition has accused the party of waging a “hybrid war” against the citizens.
A video shared on social media on Saturday showed a man filling ballots into a box at a polling station in the city of Marneuli, 42 kilometers south of Tbilisi. Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs says they have launched an investigation into the matter.
Bitter election campaign
The election is a matter of life and death for Georgia’s chances of becoming an EU member.
The country received candidate status in the EU at the end of 2023. Since then, Georgian Dream, which has held power since 2012, has stalled the process with a number of controversial legislative changes.
The election campaign in the nation of 3.7 million residents has been bitter and dominated by foreign policy.
Ahead of the parliamentary elections, Ivanishvili again promised to ban opposition parties if his party were to win.
At a campaign rally in the capital Tbilisi on Wednesday, he said, among other things, that Georgian Dream will hold opposition parties “fully accountable under the full weight of the law” for “war crimes” committed against the Georgian people.
He did not elaborate on what crimes he believes the opposition has committed.
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