A pro-Russian party won yesterday’s parliamentary elections in Georgia. The party threatens to ban opposition parties.
27.10. 19:26•Updated 27.10. 20:35
The Georgian opposition has announced that it does not accept the result of yesterday’s parliamentary elections. According to the opposition, there is already a lot of evidence of manipulation and falsification of the result.
– The representatives of the opposition directly said that the ruling party Georgian Dream is controlled by Russia and uses the same means as Russia in its own elections, says reporter Hanna Visala, who is following the elections in Tbilisi.
According to the Election Commission, the pro-Russia ruling party received approximately 54 percent of the votes and the pro-Western opposition parties received approximately 38 percent.
Among other things, the pro-Western president of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili said on Sunday that he does not recognize the results of Saturday’s parliamentary elections and that the country has been the victim of a Russian special operation.
In his speech on Sunday, Zurabišvili also called on the opposition to protest against the election result. A similar call has also been given by Georgia’s imprisoned ex-president and opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili.
The opposition is expected to organize a large demonstration on Monday.
However, according to the representative of the ruling party interviewed by Visala, the demonstrations are illegal and the resistance is suppressed. According to Visala, the situation of the opposition in the country seems very difficult.
– The ruling party Georgian dream has of course celebrated the election victory and the party declares that all opposition parties will be banned, he says.
Orbán travels to Georgia
The elections in Georgia have also been closely followed outside the country. On Sunday, European election observers said yesterday’s parliamentary elections in Georgia were marred by voter pressure and uneven operating conditions.
Also the President of the European Council Charles Michel on Sunday called on Georgia election officials to quickly investigate the alleged election irregularities. According to Michelin, the opposition’s claims of falsifying the result must be taken seriously.
Hungarian Prime Minister known as an ally of the ruling party of Georgia Viktor Orbán on the other hand, already had time on Saturday to congratulate the Georgian Dream party on the election victory. On Sunday, Orbán was also reported to visit Tbilisi on Monday.
Sources: Reuters, AFP
Updated at 20:01 with comments from Salome Zurabišvili, Mikheil Saakashvili and Charles Michel, as well as information about Viktor Orbán’s trip to Tbilisi.