TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — The head of Georgia’s Central Electoral Commission was doused with black paint Saturday at a meeting to confirm the results of the country’s divisive Oct. 26 parliamentary elections.
Protesters gathered outside the commission’s building in Tbilisi, where officials announced that the ruling Georgian Dream party had won 53.93% of the vote.
Opposition supporters have rejected the results amid allegations that the vote was rigged, an accusation that Georgian Dream denies.
The Saturday session was interrupted when David Kirtadze, a commission member from the opposition United National Movement party, threw black paint at commission chairman Giorgi Kalandarishvili.
Before the incident, Kirtadze told Kalandarishvili that the official results of the vote did not reflect voters’ “true choice.”
Kalandarishvili responded by saying that the use of “pressure, bullying and personal insults” proved that there was no evidence of vote rigging.
When the meeting resumed, Kalandarishvili was seen with a bandaged eye.
“It once again becomes evident that there is no tangible proof indicating that the elections were manipulated,” he told the audience.
European election observers have described the Georgian parliamentary elections as taking place in a “divisive” atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence.
Many Georgians viewed the vote as a pivotal referendum on the country’s effort to join the European Union. The bloc suspended Georgia’s membership application process indefinitely in June after the country’s parliament passed a “foreign influence law” that critics say mimics Moscow’s crackdown on civil society.
Critics have accused the ruling Georgian Dream, established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia, of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow. It has recently adopted laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.
President Salome Zourabichvili, who has rejected the official results, says Georgia has fallen victim to pressure from Moscow against joining the European Union. Zourabichvili, who holds a mostly ceremonial position, has urged the United States and EU to support the demonstrations.
Officials in Washington and Brussels have urged a full investigation of the election, while the Kremlin has rejected the accusations of interference.