Politics Georgia election: First results show ruling party in the lead

In the parliamentary elections in the South Caucasus republic of Georgia, the former ruling party Georgian Dream is ahead after 70 percent of the ballots have been counted. The party founded by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili is reported to have received around 53 percent of the votes counted, as the election commission in the capital Tbilisi announced in the evening. Forecasts had also seen Georgian Dream as the strongest party. However, parts of the pro-European opposition in the strongly divided country also initially claimed victory. According to preliminary figures from the electoral commission, voter turnout was around 59%.

The pro-European opposition ran in several alliances, but is divided. The electoral alliance Unity, which also includes the largest opposition party in the 2020 parliamentary elections, the United National Movement, reportedly received around 10 percent of the vote. The Coalition for Change electoral alliance is now the strongest opposition alliance with around 11% of the votes counted.

The pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili, who is close to the opposition, announced on X after the publication of the first forecasts that the parties aspiring to join the EU had received 52 percent of the vote. "Georgia has shown democracy, Europeanism and maturity... I am proud and convinced of our European future!" she said.

Many expect the Georgian Dream to turn away from the EU if successful

Many believe that the success of the Georgian Dream, founded by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, will see the country turn away from the EU and towards more cooperation with its large neighbor Russia. Ivanishvili has become a billionaire by doing business in Russia. Around 3.5 million citizens at home and abroad were called to vote.

Georgia is a candidate for EU membership, but the process is on hold due to controversial laws. For this reason, pro-Western forces in particular spoke in the run-up to the vote of a fateful election for the country, which is at a crossroads and where both Russia and the West have a strong influence.

Reports of individual violations

Local media reported on individual incidents and conflicts at polling stations during the course of the day. In the small town of Marneuli in the south-east of the country, a man threw in several ballot papers at a polling station, according to the central electoral commission. The results at the polling station would not be counted, it said. The opposition and the government blamed each other for the incident. The Ministry of the Interior initiated criminal proceedings.

Due to the polarized situation in the country and fears of electoral fraud, non-governmental organizations in particular had deployed many observers to monitor the vote. Election law experts had already complained about the misuse of state resources by the ruling party. Around 500 observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) have also been deployed. They will give their verdict on the election this Sunday.

Opposition is fragmented - country divided

The opposition in the highly polarized country is divided. They are united by their aspirations for Europe. However, the various parties were unable to unite in the run-up to the election to fight the Georgian Dream. Just under a week before the election, tens of thousands demonstrated in Tbilisi in favor of closer ties with the EU. Young people in particular have repeatedly expressed their desire for Georgia to become part of the EU. They want to be granted visa-free travel, study abroad and fear for human rights under the increasingly authoritarian leadership of the Georgian Dream, said female students at the demonstration for Europe.

A few days later, tens of thousands took to the streets of the capital again, this time at a Georgian Dream rally. The party had organized buses to transport people from the country's Black Sea regions, some of which were far away, to the capital.

Georgian Dream stoked fears of war with Russia

During the election campaign, Georgian Dream had stoked fears of war with Russia if the opposition were to win. This could be seen, for example, in election posters on which photos of cities in Ukraine destroyed in the Russian war of aggression were juxtaposed with intact buildings in Georgia. The Georgian Dream promised voters peace and stability.

The head of government, Irakli Kobakhidze, had emphasized in the morning that the election was a referendum between war and peace. When casting his vote in the morning, Ivanishvili also once again stoked fears of a war into which foreign powers allegedly want to lead the country.

Ivanishvili blames former President Saakashvili's party for the war with Russia in 2008. Moscow subsequently recognized the breakaway Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. As a result, Georgia lost 20 percent of its territory. Ivanishvili announced several times that he would ban the party if his Georgian Dream won a two-thirds majority in parliament in the election.

The EU only made Georgia a candidate country at the end of 2023. However, the process has been put on hold again due to the adoption of controversial laws. The EU accused the country's leadership of pursuing an anti-European course. The government had pushed through laws similar to those in Russia against massive protests. These include a law to control the financing of non-governmental organizations and media from abroad, which is intended to curtail outside influence. The rights of homosexuals and other sexual minorities have also recently been curtailed - in a country where the Georgian Orthodox Church continues to wield great influence.

SDA