Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia on Saturday. In the evening, the Central Election Commission announced that after counting the votes of almost 71 percent of the constituencies, the ruling party of the Dream of Georgia won. The opposition leaders said that they do not recognize these results. There were also accusations of a coup against the government. Commentators believe that these are historic elections that will determine the future of the country.
The Central Election Commission of Georgia announced on Saturday evening that after the counting of votes in 71 percent of the constituencies, the ruling party of the Dream of Georgia won the parliamentary elections with the result of 52.99 percent.
According to these partial results, the opposition forces achieved the following results: the Change Coalition – 11.2 percent, the Unity bloc – 9.83 percent, Strong Georgia – 9.02 percent, and the “For Georgia” party – 8.23 percent. voices The remaining parties did not exceed the threshold of 5% of the elections.
The ruling party claims that it will win about 90 out of 150 seats in the parliament.
This year, for the first time in Georgia, up to 90 percent of the votes in the general elections will be counted electronically.
The opposition does not recognize the results
Tina Bokuchava, leader of the United National Movement (ZRN), the former ruling party of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, announced on Saturday evening that the group does not recognize the results of the election, Echo Kavkaza portal (a branch of Radio Free Europe) reports. ) reported.
The leader of the opposition Coalition for Change, Nika Gvaramiya, also announced that this union does not recognize the election results and accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of a coup d'état.
Georgia's dream after the announcement of results DAVID MDZINARISHVILI/EPA/PAP
Congratulations from Orban
Even before the announcement of the official results, Viktor Orbán, the Prime Minister of Hungary, congratulated the Georgian Dream party with a “great victory” on Saturday. “The people of Georgia know what is best for their country and today they heard their voices!” – wrote on the X site.
However, polls conducted for opposition media indicate that GM may lose its majority in parliament.
An Edison Research survey commissioned by rival Formula One TV showed GM winning 40.9 percent. votes and a total of 51.9 percent voted in favor of the four opposition forces. voters. In turn, based on the results of the poll, the pro-government Imedi GM station received 56.1% of the votes, and the opposition received 36% of the votes. voices The turnout in Saturday's parliamentary elections was 59%. In the previous election in 2020, participation was 57%, and in 2012, when GM took office, it was 61%.
Post-election unrest
Just after the polls closed, political sentiment in Georgia reached its peak. While waiting for the official election results, the preliminary results have caused a lot of confusion. Competing exit polls offered starkly different predictions about the outcome of the election. According to a survey prepared for the television channel “Imedi TV”, the ruling party “Georgian Dream” is leading with 56 percent of supporters.
Two other polls, commissioned by the pro-opposition stations Formula and Mtavari Arkhi, showed that the opposition parties could together form a majority in the 150-seat parliament.
Parliamentary elections in Georgia PAP/EPA/DAVID MDZINARISHVILI
– It is rare for a party to achieve such success in such a difficult situation. This clearly shows the talent of the Georgian people, said Bidzina Ivanishvili, former prime minister and founder of the Georgian Dream party, minutes after the voting ended. “I assure you that our country will achieve great success this year,” he added. Fireworks were set off in front of the headquarters of the party.
At that time, the opposition also declared victory, and its representatives claimed that they were on the way to obtaining a parliamentary majority. Salome Zurabishvili, the pro-Western president of the Republic of the West, wrote on Platform X, “European Georgia wins with 52 percent of the vote, despite efforts to rig the election and without taking into account the votes of the diaspora.”
The leader of the opposition party “For Georgia” Giorgi Gakharia called on the opposition to focus on “protecting the votes”. – Now the most important thing is to defend the voices, not to live in virtual reality. We should stop celebrating and defending the votes of all election commissions, – the politician appealed, quoting from Echo Kavkaza portal (a branch of Radio Free Europe).
Tina Bokuchava, leader of the United National Opposition Movement, told Reuters that the people of Georgia voted for the future of Europe, and the loser should accept his defeat and leave.
Georgia after the elections Irakli Gedenidze/Forum
According to a poll prepared for Formula station, “Georgian Dream” will be the largest party, but the four main opposition parties will have a combined majority (83 seats) in the 150-seat parliament. The Reuters news agency emphasizes that the four main opposition groups in Georgia, although they support the West, have deep disagreements.
Main photo: DAVID MDZINARISHVILI/EPA/PAP