Elections are closing in Georgia, which could lead it to the EU or…

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Polls in Georgia closed Saturday after an election that many citizens saw as a decisive vote on whether to join the European Union.

The election campaign in the South Caucasus country of 3.7 million people, which borders Russia, was influenced by foreign policy and was marked by a fierce battle for votes and allegations of a smear campaign. The election results will determine whether Georgia will return to the path of EU membership, or whether it will adopt authoritarianism and fall into the orbit of Russia.

Some Georgians complained of intimidation and under pressure to force a vote for the ruling Georgian Dream party, while the opposition accused the party of waging a “hybrid war” against its citizens.

A video shared on social media on Saturday showed a man dropping ballots into a ballot box at a polling station in the town of Marneuli, 42 kilometers (26 miles) south of Tbilisi. Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said it had launched an investigation, and the Central Election Commission said a criminal case had been opened and that all voting results at the polling station would be invalidated.

On the eve of the parliamentary elections, Bidzin Ivanishvili — shadow billionaire who founded Georgian Dream and made his fortune in Russia — again vowed to ban opposition parties if his party wins.

“Georgian Dream” will hold opposition parties to “full responsibility to the full extent of the law” for “war crimes” committed against the people of Georgia, Ivanishvili said at a pro-government rally in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, on Wednesday. He did not explain what crimes, in his opinion, were committed by the opposition.

Many considered the election to be the most important since Georgia gained independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

“These are existential elections,” said Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili.

Georgians want “European integration, they want to move forward and they want politics that will bring us a better, more stable future,” Christine Tordia, 29, told The Associated Press shortly after the vote in the capital, Tbilisi.

According to polls, about 80% of Georgians are in favor of joining the EU, and the country’s constitution obliges its leaders to seek membership in this bloc and NATO.

But Brussels suspended Georgia’s bid to join the EU indefinitely after the ruling party adopted a “Russian law” destruction of freedom of speech in June Many Georgians fear that the party is dragging the country into authoritarianism and killing hopes of joining the EU.

The election is “not only about changing the government, but whether Georgia will survive or not, because Ivanishvili’s government means Russia,” said Nika Gvaramia, leader of the opposition Coalition for Change group.

Ivanishvili voted on Saturday morning under increased security. He did not respond to the AP’s question about whether he wants to form an alliance with Russia.

Elections, he said, are a choice between “a government that will serve you” or “choosing agents of a foreign country who will only do the bidding of that foreign country.” Ivanishvili did not specify which country he was referring to, but before the election he and his officials claimed that the “Global War Party” sought to influence the EU and the US, expand the conflict in Ukraine and free “Georgian Dream” from power.