Georgia’s most powerful man won a parliamentary election on Saturday, according to early official results, a victory which opposition politicians refused to recognise, alleging “falsification”.
The ruling Georgian Dream party’s billionaire founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, the opposition, and foreign diplomats had cast the election as a watershed moment that would decide if Georgia moves closer to the West or leans back towards Russia amid the war in Ukraine.
If confirmed, Georgian Dream’s victory would prove a blow to those Georgians who hope for closer integration with Europe in a vote billed as a choice between the West and Russia.
Early official results with 70 percent of precincts counted, representing the majority of votes cast, showed the ruling party had won 53 percent of the vote, the electoral commission said.
The results do not include most ballots cast by Georgians living overseas.
Opposition parties contested the election results at a news briefing held in the early hours of Sunday and said they would not accept them.
“This is a constitutional coup,” said Nika Gvaramia, leader of the Coalition for Change opposition party, according to the Interpress news agency.
“The Georgian people have cast a vote for the European future of this country, and therefore we will not accept these falsified results published by the CEC (Central Election Commission),” said Tina Bokuchava, leader of the opposition United National Movement.
“We will continue to demand the annulment of the results,” it said.
Exit polls by the pro-opposition channels showed major gains for the opposition parties.
(Reuters)
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