Pro-Russian party wins elections in Georgia; the president calls for protest

The president of Georgia’s western ally called for protests after a pro-Russian party won parliamentary elections at the weekend amid allegations of voter intimidation and calls for an investigation by the US and its European allies.

In a speech on Sunday, President Salome Zurabishvili refused to recognize the election results, which she said would not “legitimize Russia’s takeover of Georgia,” and called on citizens to protest in the capital, Tbilisi.

“We were not just witnesses, but victims of what can only be called a Russian special operation, a new form of hybrid warfare being waged against our people and our country,” she said.

In the elections on Saturday, the ruling party “Georgian Dream” won the parliament 53% of votes.

But European election monitors noted widespread reports of “pressure on voters, including public sector workers” and “extensive surveillance of voters on election day.”

The election “took place against a background of entrenched polarization in an environment clouded by concerns about the recently adopted legislation, its impact on fundamental freedoms and civil society,” the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said in a statement. statement.

Widespread “reports of voter pressure, including public sector workers” and “large-scale voter tracking on Election Day have raised concerns about the ability of some voters to cast their ballots without fear of punishment.”

The European Union and the United States called for an investigation into possible “violations.”

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called for a “full investigation into all reports of election-related irregularities.” statement on Sunday.

This was stated by the high representative of the European Commission, Josep Borrell statement that the Georgian authorities should “fulfill their duty to conduct a prompt, transparent and independent investigation and adjudication of election violations and allegations.”

Four other pro-Western Georgian opposition parties also spoke out against the legitimacy of the election and said Georgians should take to the streets – Coalition for Change party leader Nika Gvaramiya called it a “constitutional coup” and Tina Bokuchava of the United National Movement said. the election was “stolen”.

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The political interests of Russia and the West collide in Georgia

Georgia, an Eastern European country of about 3.7 million people, has been at the center of a tug-of-war between pro-Russian and pro-Western factions since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

In 2008, war broke out when Russian-backed separatists tried to declare independence for two regions of the country. Russia sent troops there, and today these territories remain under Russian control.

Georgia applied to join European Union in March 2022, and received candidate status the following year. And polls show that among the former Soviet states, Georgians have one of the highest rates of support for strengthening ties with Europe.

but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exacerbated the country’s political division. Since the beginning of the war, parts of Georgia became harbors for Russians fleeing political persecution for protesting the war or refusing to serve.

more: Georgia defies EU and ‘goes back in time’ with Russian-style law that sparked mass protests

“Enemies of the country should be banned”

Protests erupted this spring after lawmakers pushed through a bill supported by the Georgian Dream which Zurabishvili called an “exact duplicate” of a 2012 Russian law that helped President of Russia Vladimir Putin suppress political dissent and suppress democratic rights.

According to the law, organizations that receive more than a fifth of their funding from outside the country must register as agents of foreign influence.

Supporters of the bill said it was needed to weed out foreign interference and Western influence operations.

Zurabishvili vetoed the bill, but her veto was overturned by the Georgian Dream-dominated parliament.

At his last rally before the elections, Bidzina Ivanishvili, the leader of Georgian Dream, promised to ban opposition parties.

“Those who are enemies of the people and enemies of the country should be banned,” he said said in an interview on Imedi TV last week

Ivanishvili, a billionaire who made a fortune in the banking and computer industries after Georgia broke away from the Soviet Union, he campaigned on the platform of keeping Georgia out of the Ukrainian war. While the party says it supports Georgia’s bid to join the European Union, EU leaders say the party’s authoritarian tendencies are delaying its entry.

Contributed by: Reuters

Sybel Mace-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Contact her by email at [email protected]. Follow her on X @CybeleMO.