The decisive vote in Georgia took place against the background of mass intimidation, say representatives of European monitoring bodies

TBILISI, Georgia — European election monitors said Sunday’s election in Georgia took place in a “divisive” environment with widespread intimidation and incidents of physical violence, undermining the outcome of a vote that could decide the country’s future in Europe.

The Central Election Commission said the ruling Georgian Dream party won 54.8 percent of the vote on Saturday after almost 100 percent of ballots were counted. After a divisive election campaign, initial figures suggest voter turnout is the highest since the ruling party was first elected in 2012.

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe monitors said they had numerous concerns about the conduct of the election, including vote-buying, double voting, physical violence and intimidation.

Georgian Dream, the ruling party, used hostile rhetoric, “promoted Russian disinformation” and conspiracy theories in the run-up to the election in an attempt to “undermine and manipulate the vote,” said Antonio Lopez-Isturiz White, head of the European Parliament’s monitoring delegation. .

According to him, the holding of elections is proof that the ruling party is “retreating from democracy.”

Georgian election observers, who were stationed across the country to monitor the vote, also reported numerous irregularities and said the results were “not in accordance with the will of the Georgian people.”

The Georgian Dream is becoming increasingly authoritarian, passing laws similar to those used by Russia to stifle free speech. Brussels suspended Georgia’s EU membership process indefinitely due to the “Russian law” passed in June.

Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of Georgian Dream, who made his fortune in Russia, declared victory almost immediately after the polls closed and said: “It is rare in the world for the same party to achieve such success in such a difficult situation.” Ahead of the election, he promised to ban opposition parties if his party won.

The head of the opposition party “United National Movement” Tina Bokuchava accused the election commission of carrying out Ivanishvili’s “dirty order” and said that he “stole victory from the Georgian people and thereby stole the European future.”

She noted that the opposition will not accept the results and will “fight like never before to take back our European future”.

The UNM party said its headquarters were attacked on Saturday, while Georgian media reported that two people were hospitalized after an attack near polling stations.

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.

Some Georgians complained of intimidation and pressure to force them to vote for the ruling party.

Georgian Dream won the largest share of the vote – almost 90% – in the Javakheti region of southern Georgia, 135 kilometers (83 miles) west of the capital Tbilisi, where it failed to win more than 44% of the vote in any district.

Before the election, the Associated Press visited the region, where many people are ethnic Armenians who speak Armenian, Russian and a limited amount of Georgian. Some voters suggested it was instructions on how to vote for local officials while some questioned why Georgia needed a relationship with Europe and suggested that it would be better off aligning with Moscow.

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. Many fear that the “Georgian Dream” is dragging the country into authoritarianism and killing hopes of becoming a member of the EU.

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Associated Press producer Sofiko Megrelidze contributed to this report