The flag of Georgia. Photo:InstagramFOTOGRAFIN / pixabay
The results of the recent elections in Georgia, which were won by the ruling Georgian Dream party, were a blow to pro-Western Georgians who saw Saturday’s vote as a choice between further rapprochement with Russia and rapid integration with Europe. Georgia’s independent President Salome Zurabishvili called on the population to protest, while the US and EU demanded a full investigation into the numerous election violations, Reuters reported.
According to official figures, the Georgian Dream, which is fiercely criticised by Zurabishvili, won almost 54% of the vote and will have 89 seats in parliament, while the pro-Western opposition won only 61 seats. The election was accompanied by reports of vote buying, voter intimidation and ballot fraud, recorded by observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), who said the irregularities may have affected the outcome but did not consider them sufficient to declare the election fraudulent.
In her speech on Sunday, Zurabishvili said that the elections were a “Russian special operation” and called on Georgians to gather in the centre of Tbilisi to peacefully protest the results. The president also stressed the importance of demonstrating to the international community that Georgians do not recognise the election.
The international community’s reaction was not slow in coming: U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken supported the call for an investigation into the violations and stressed the need to uphold the rule of law and protect fundamental freedoms in Georgia. For its part, the European Union called for a prompt and transparent investigation of the electoral process and noted that Georgia should review legislation that contradicts European values and undermines the rights of citizens.
Despite the criticism, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused the opposition of trying to overthrow the “constitutional order” and assured that his government would remain committed to European integration. However, the results of the vote and the opposition’s reaction reflect deep divisions in Georgian society over the country’s political course.
Georgia remains one of the most pro-Western countries in the post-Soviet space, and the results of these elections could complicate its path to European integration and hinder the EU’s efforts to expand at the expense of former Soviet states.
