Georgia braces for protests after contested vote

Georgia braces for protests after contested vote

Georgia's opposition has accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of 'stealing' this weekend's parliamentary election

Georgia braced for protests on Monday after the pro-EU opposition called for mass demonstrations, accusing the ruling party of "stealing" this weekend's parliamentary election with Russian help.

The Caucasus country -- rocked by mass protests earlier this year -- was plunged into political uncertainty in the hours after Saturday's vote, with both Brussels and Washington denouncing "irregularities".

Georgia's pro-European president Salome Zurabishvili alleged a "Russian special operation" to interfere with the election -- a claim swiftly rejected by Moscow.

The ruling Georgian Dream party has for months been accused by the opposition of steering Tbilisi away from its goal of joining the EU and back into Russia's orbit.

Defying the EU's concerns over the vote, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- current holder of the bloc's rotating presidency and the Kremlin's closest EU associate -- was scheduled to press ahead with a two-day visit to Tbilisi to show his support for Georgian Dream.

And Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday insisted EU membership remained a "main priority" for his party and that he expected a "reset" with Brussels.

- Opposition rejects defeat -

According to near-final results announced by the electoral commission, Georgian Dream won 53.92 percent of the vote, compared with 37.78 of the votes taken by the union of four pro-Western opposition alliances. 

The opposition has said the vote was unfair and has refused to concede defeat to a party it accuses of pro-Kremlin authoritarianism.

Opposition politicians have said they would renounce their mandates and will not enter the newly elected parliament.  

"We are witnesses and victims of a Russian special operation, a modern form of hybrid war against the Georgian people," Zurabishvili said Sunday, declaring the announced results "illegitimate."

The Kremlin on Monday said it "strongly rejected" her accusation and instead accused EU countries of interference.

"These accusations are completely unsubstantiated," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. 

- Observers allege ballot-stuffing -

An EU parliament mission said the vote was evidence of Tbilisi's "democratic backsliding", adding that it had seen instances of "ballot box stuffing" and the "physical assault" of observers.

Zurabishvili joined opposition calls  for protests -- including from jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili, who led mass protests 20 years ago that first set Georgia on a pro-EU path.  

"Now is the time for mass protests. We must show the world that we are fighting for freedom and that we are a people who will not tolerate injustice," he said.

Several opposition groups called for mass protests in the capital Tbilisi, already rocked by massive demonstrations this year over several laws passed by Georgian Dream that were rejected by the opposition as repressive.

The result announced by the electoral commission gave Georgian Dream 89 seats in the 150-member parliament -- enough to govern but short of the supermajority it had sought to pass a constitutional ban on all main opposition parties.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken blasted what he called the "misuse of public resources, vote buying, and voter intimidation" which he said "contributed to an uneven playing field."

Political analyst Ghia Nodia said he expected "large-scale protests" but not "serious upheaval."

"I anticipate Georgian Dream will launch a full-scale offensive against opponents, civil activists, and independent media," he said.

Nodia believed that while "electoral violations may have swayed the election outcome", the ruling party still maintained a "solid support base."

- Orban expected-

Orban, who has retained ties to Moscow despite the 2022 Ukraine invasion, is due in Tbilisi on Monday evening.

Commenting on the visit, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned Orban "does not represent" the bloc on foreign affairs.

Orban congratulated Georgian Dream for an "overwhelming victory" on Saturday, after one exit poll showed the government in the lead, before preliminary results were published.

Other EU leaders condemned the vote -- with some backing the call of the opposition. 

"The President of Georgia has announced that the parliamentary elections were falsified. Europe must now stand with the Georgian people," Poland's foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on X Sunday.  

- 'Constitutional coup' - 

Opposition parties lined up to denounce the vote. 

"This is an attempt to steal Georgia's future," said Tina Bokuchava, leader of Saakashvili's United National Movement (UNM).

Nika Gvaramia, leader of the liberal Akhali party, said the way the vote was held constituted "a constitutional coup" by the government.

Georgia was rocked in May by huge demonstrations against a law on "foreign influence", that critics said mirrored Russian legislation used to silence Kremlin critics. 

The US imposed sanctions on Georgian officials following the protests.  

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Originally published as Georgia braces for protests after contested vote