The ruling party in Georgia, winner of the legislative elections, affirmed this Monday, October 28 that European integration remained its “priority”, in response to the pro-Western opposition, which accuses it of pro-Russian authoritarian drift and called for demonstrations at the end of the day.
The European Union expressed concern about the victory of the Georgian Dream party in Saturday’s vote, calling for an investigation into “electoral irregularities”. But, in a discordant voice, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, close to Moscow, is expected in Georgia on Monday and Tuesday, a snub to the EU of which Hungary holds the rotating presidency. This unforeseen visit angered Brussels. The Hungarian leader “does not represent the European Union”, tackled the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borell, on Monday.
Faced with the emerging controversy, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze reiterated that Tbilisi’s “main priority” in terms of foreign policy is, naturally, European integration. “Everything will be done to ensure that Georgia is fully integrated into the EU by 2030,” he promised to journalists, saying “to expect a restart of relations” with Brussels, after high tensions in recent months, against a backdrop of pro-Russian authoritarian drift according to the opposition.
The opposition coalition refuses to recognize its defeat
According to almost final results, the Georgian Dream, in office since 2012, was credited Monday morning with 53.92% of the votes, against 37.78% for the opposition coalition. The latter, who had initially claimed her victory on the basis of exit polls on Saturday, refuses to recognize her defeat and will try to make her voice heard in the streets on Monday evening with a large demonstration. “We are witnesses and victims of a special Russian operation, a modern form of hybrid war against the Georgian people,” President Salomé Zourabichvili denounced on Sunday, breaking with the government, without specifying her allegations.
The spokesperson for the Russian presidency, Dmitri Peskov, said he “firmly rejects” these “totally unfounded” accusations, accusing Salomé Zourabichvili of “attempts to destabilize” his own country. “There was no intervention,” he swept away.
The opposition accuses the ruling party, led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, of bringing Georgia closer to Moscow and distancing it from possible membership in the European Union and NATO, two objectives enshrined in its constitution. . Former President Mikheil Saakashvili, now imprisoned and rival of Bidzina Ivanishvili, also called for “massive demonstrations” in order to “show the world that we are fighting for freedom”.
One of the components of the opposition, the Coalition for Change, announced that it was renouncing its parliamentary mandates so as not to “give legitimacy” to the vote. According to Mikheil Saakashvili, “no one” among the opposition deputies should enter Parliament.
“Attack” coming
OSCE international observers spoke of “pressure” during the vote and listed a certain number of dysfunctions, such as “cases of vote buying”. Despite everything, “Georgian Dream maintains a solid base of support by effectively playing on fears of an imminent threat of war” against Russia, notes political analyst Ghia Nodia to AFP. According to him, “the conditions are not conducive to serious upheavals (in the country, editor’s note). Rather, I expect that Georgian Dream will launch a large-scale attack against opponents, civil society and the media independent.
Georgia was rocked in May by large protests against a “foreign influence” law, inspired by Russian legislation on “foreign agents” used to crush civil society. But this mobilization was not enough to defeat the text. Brussels subsequently froze the EU accession process and the United States took sanctions against Georgian officials. Some leaders of the Georgian Dream are also very critical of Westerners. Bidzina Ivanishvili called them a “global war party.”
This former Soviet republic in the Caucasus is marked by its defeat in a brief war in 2008 with Russia, and by the threat of a new invasion, such as that of Ukraine. Moscow has military bases in two Georgian separatist regions whose independence the Kremlin has recognized: Abkhazia and South Ossetia.