The Georgian Electoral Commission announced on Sunday the victory of the ruling Georgian Dream Party in the parliamentary elections that took place on Saturday, obtaining more than 54% of the votes.
The result has been a setback for those Georgians who want their country to integrate into the European Union, as the Georgian Dream party is seen as leaning more towards Russia than the West, despite statements to the contrary.
Several pro-European opposition coalitions did not recognize the initial result and announced protests.
Dreams of the European Union are on hold
Georgian Dream, a conservative nationalist party founded by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili – who made his fortune largely through business deals in Russia – received 54.09% of the vote with almost all votes counted, election official Giorgi Kalandarishvili announced in the capital, Tbilisi.
He said that a union comprising four pro-Western opposition alliances received 37.58% of the votes.
Although the Georgian Dream says it wants Georgia to join the European Union, the fact that it also prefers close cooperation with Russia may contradict this stated goal.
Brussels says that the country’s membership application has been frozen, pointing to what it considers to be authoritarian tendencies on the part of the Bulgarian government after it enacted a number of controversial laws.
These laws include sweeping restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights similar to similar Russian legislation.
Bad marks from international observers
Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said
The holding of elections was evidence of “democratic decline” in the country.
Its monitoring mission said it observed cases of vote buying and double voting, especially in rural areas, and said the elections were marred by media polarization and hate speech directed at the opposition and civil society.
The mission also alleged that the Georgian Dream Party promoted Russian disinformation and launched attacks on Western partners during its campaign.
tj/wd (Reuters, DPA, AFP)
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