Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia on Saturday. Shortly after the end of the vote, both the pro-Russian ruling party Georgian Dream and the pro-European opposition announced victory. According to commentators, these are historic elections that will determine the future of the country and determine which side of the political barricade Tbilisi will stand on. Will it take a course towards the West or take another step towards Moscow.
Just after the polls closed, political emotions erupted Georgia they reach their zenith. We are waiting for the official election results, as the preliminary ones cause a lot of confusion. Competitive polls exit poll presented completely different predictions about the election results. According to a poll prepared for the pro-government TV channel Imedi TV, the ruling Georgian Dream party is leading with support at 56 percent.
Two other polls – commissioned by the pro-opposition Formula and Mtavari Arkhi stations – indicate that the opposition parties will be able to jointly form a majority in the 150-seat parliament.
Parliamentary elections in GeorgiaPAP/EPA/DAVID MDZINARISHVILI
Both sides declare victory
– It is rare for the same (ruling – editor) party to achieve such success in such a difficult situation. This clearly shows the talent of the Georgian people, said Bidzina Ivanishvili, former prime minister and founder of the Georgian Dream party, a few minutes after the end of the vote. – I assure you that our country will achieve great success in the next four years – he added. Fireworks were fired near the party headquarters.
The opposition also announced victory, whose representatives claim that they are on their way to gaining a parliamentary majority. “European Georgia wins with 52 percent of the vote, despite attempts to rig the elections and without taking into account the votes of the diaspora,” pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili wrote on Platform X.
Georgia after the electionsIrakli Gedenidze/Forum
According to an exit poll prepared for the Formula station, Georgian Dream will be the largest party, but the four main opposition parties will together have the majority (83 seats) in the 150-seat parliament.
Reuters points out that Georgia's four main opposition parties are deeply divided and it is unclear whether they will be able to reach an agreement and form a government together.
The Central Electoral Commission is scheduled to announce partial official election results around 10 p.m. (8 p.m. in Poland). The results will not include votes cast abroad.
Main photo source: Irakli Gedenidze/Forum