Elections in Georgia were accompanied by vote buying and intimidation, according to European observers

Georgia’s parliamentary elections were marred by intimidation and irregularities before and during the vote, European monitors said on October 27 after the ruling party claimed victory.

The country’s election commission announced the ruling Moscow-friendly Georgian Dream party. won 53.9% in a vote on October 26 that was described as rod for Georgiaaspirations of Russia to the EU.

Some pro-EU opposition parties refused to accept the results and said the election was stolen, pointing to election observers reporting various violations, including throwing away ballots and intimidation of voters.

“During our observation, we noted cases of vote-buying and double voting on the eve and during the elections, especially in rural areas,” said Ioan Bulaihead of the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

“The presence of ruling party cameras at polling stations, as well as people in front of polling stations monitoring and possibly monitoring voters, led to an atmosphere of pressure and party-orchestrated intimidation.”

Pascal Allizard, who headed the mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), unscored “the imbalance in financial resources, the divisive atmosphere of the election campaign and the recent amendments to the law have caused serious concern during this election process.”

Allizard said the legal framework for the election was “adequate” and the vote was “largely peaceful”, although recent amendments reversed some earlier positive changes.

Antonio López-Isturiz White, head of the European Parliament delegation, said that “the ruling party has used anti-Western and hostile rhetoric aimed at Georgia’s democratic partners, including the European Union, its politicians and diplomats, and contributed to Russian disinformation, manipulation, and conspiracy theories.”

“Reports of election irregularities in Georgia are of grave concern,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhna said on X.

Germany’s foreign ministry said it “fully supports the preliminary findings and conclusions” of the OSCE mission and is “concerned by reports of tense situations and violations.”

“The implementation of the election results and the formation of the government will also affect Georgia’s future progress on its European path.” the ministry said in social networks.

In turn, the “Georgian Dream” was greeted by several world leaders, including neighboring Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as officials from Russia and Hungary. praised the results.

The Coalition for Change, one of the opposition groups that won 10.9% of the vote, said it would not “legitimize the votes stolen from the citizens of Georgia” by winning their parliamentary mandates.

Prime Minister of Georgia Irakliy Kobakhidze dismissed the opposition’s protests and said that the parliament would still approve the government.

The ruling party, founded by oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, has seen the South Caucasus country move ever closer to Moscow, hampering its EU aspirations. Tbilisi’s adoption is controversial the law on foreign agents earlier this year resulted in the EU effectively freezing Georgia’s accession process, even though it was granted candidate status last December.

The ruling party said it would also push for a constitutional prohibition about UNM, one of the country’s leading opposition parties, founded by former president Mykhailo Saakashvili, and other opposition groups.

The submission and adoption of the bill on foreign agents caused widespread protests across the country, as in March 2023 and in May of this year. AND a big rally On October 20, a week before the elections, an action in support of Georgia’s accession to the European Union was also held on Freedom Square in Tbilisi.

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