Politics Georgia: Forecasts point to victory for the ruling party

In the landmark parliamentary election in the South Caucasus republic of Georgia, initial forecasts indicate a victory for the national-conservative ruling party Georgian Dream after the polls close. According to post-election polls, Georgian Dream received 56.1 percent of the vote, as reported by the Imedi television station. By contrast, the post-election polls of other television stations put the party at around 40 percent.

The party immediately celebrated its result in Tbilisi with fireworks. An alliance of the pro-Western opposition called Unity, which includes the largest opposition party United National Movement, achieved 11.6 percent of the vote in the so-called exit polls, according to Imedi. There are other opposition electoral alliances. The opposition parties are divided. They are united only by their aspirations for Europe and the desire to weaken the Georgian Dream. It is unclear whether they could agree on a joint coalition government.

The first official results were expected in the course of the evening. Polling stations closed at 20:00 local time (18:00 CEST).

Many believe that a success for the Georgian Dream, founded by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, would mean the country turning away from the EU in favor of more cooperation with its large neighbor 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.

SDA