Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia on Saturday. In the evening, after the end of the voting, the first exit-poll (exit-poll) appeared – one for the government media and one for the opposition television. Their results are contradictory. According to one, the ruling party “Georgian Dream” is leading, according to another, it is losing the majority in the parliament.
At 8 am local time (6 am in Poland) parliamentary elections began in Georgia, which most Georgians saw as a referendum on the future of their country and the choice of the West and rapprochement with Russia. The electoral struggle between the pro-Russian ruling Georgian Dream party and the European opposition continues.
After the voting, two exit polls were published, but their results are contradictory.
According to the results of the survey for the pro-government media, the ruling Georgian Dream party is in the lead. In turn, a poll conducted for the opposition television shows that Georgian Dream will lose the majority in the parliament.
Concerns about voter fraud
More than four thousand citizens of Georgia volunteered to monitor the voting process. After the selection of candidates, 1.5 thousand people were selected. public observers.
– Our observers will be present at the polling stations to observe the election process and vote counting. Nino Lomjarya, the former civil rights ombudsman in Georgia, said before the start of voting that mobile teams and observers in the Central Election Commission will also move around the electoral districts.
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– We receive a lot of information from different regions of Georgia about a very problematic phenomenon: representatives of local authorities or the police forcefully collect personal data of voters or take identity cards. If someone doesn't have their ID with them, they can't vote, he said.
According to him, in this way, the ruler of Georgian Dream may be preparing for “manipulation in which someone uses other people's identity card when voting”.
It is possible that the passports were taken from people who were suspected of voting for the ruling party. – This is an interference with their right to vote, – emphasized Lomjarya, who was the ombudsman of Georgia in 2017-22. “That's why we have to be very careful and mobilized,” he added.
Peace Bridge in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia Shutterstock
The expert explained that for the first time in Georgia up to 90 percent of votes will be counted electronically. At the end of the election, the devices will print the preliminary voting results. Votes will also be counted manually and the final results will be presented accordingly.
The lawyer admitted that NGOs involved in monitoring the election were under “unprecedented pressure” during the campaign, a campaign of disinformation and hate propaganda by the ruling group, which accuses the leaders of these movements of being agents of foreign influence and traitors. experienced.
Elections in the shadow of tension
The pre-election campaign was also characterized by extensive misuse of administrative funds, threats and pressure on voters. According to Lomjaria, opposition representatives were also physically attacked.
Representatives of the ruling party did not appear in critical media, and pro-government media did not host the opposition. There was no pre-election debate even in mass media.
– There is a high level of commitment among the voters. I expect an unprecedented high voter turnout, including in polling stations abroad, he added. The largest number of people registered to vote abroad in history.
Young voters are also very motivated and this is something new in the political reality of Georgia.
– It may be the first time that young people are more motivated voters. For them, it is the choice of the future of Europe and being under the influence of Russia, he said.
Many people are also motivated by dissatisfaction with the so-called act on foreign agents, which the government adopted despite public protests.
For most Georgians, Saturday's election is a referendum. – We understand that we are not only voting for political parties, but also making decisions about the future of Georgia, said Lomzharya in conclusion.
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/DAVID MDZINARISHVILI