Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia on Saturday. In the evening, the Central Electoral Commission announced that after counting the votes from almost 71 percent of polling stations, the ruling Georgian Dream party was winning. Immediately after the vote, both the ruling party and the pro-European opposition announced victory. Commentators agree that these are historic elections that will determine the future of the country and determine which side of the political barricade Tbilisi will stand on – whether it will take a course towards the West or take another step towards Moscow.
Central Electoral Commission Georgia announced on Saturday evening that after counting the votes from almost 71 percent of polling stations, the ruling Georgian Dream party was winning the parliamentary elections with a result of approximately 52.99 percent.
According to these partial results, the opposition forces achieved the following results: Coalition for Change – 11.2 percent, Unity bloc – 9.83 percent, Strong Georgia – 9.02 percent, and the For Georgia party received 8.23 ​​percent. votes. The remaining parties did not exceed the 5% electoral threshold.
The ruling party claims that it will receive approximately 90 of the 150 seats in parliament.
This year, for the first time in Georgia, up to 90 percent of votes cast in general elections are counted electronically.
Congratulations from Orban
Prime minister Hungarian Viktor Orbáneven before the official results were announced, congratulated the Georgian Dream party on Saturday on its “overwhelming victory.” “The people of Georgia know what is best for their country, and they made their voices heard today!” – wrote on the site X.
From research exit poll conducted for the opposition media, however, show that GM may lose its majority in parliament.
An Edison Research study commissioned by the opposition Formula TV shows that GM won 40.9 percent. votes, and a total of 51.9% voted for the four opposition forces. voters. In turn, according to the exit poll for the pro-government station Imedi GM won 56.1%, and the opposition in total 36%. votes. Turnout in Saturday's parliamentary elections was 59%. During the previous elections in 2020, turnout was 57%, and in 2012, when GM came to power, it was 61%.
Post-election chaos
Just after the polls closed, political emotions in Georgia reached their peak. While waiting for the official election results, the preliminary results caused considerable confusion. Competitive polls exit polls 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 was leading with support at 56 percent.
Two other polls – commissioned by the pro-opposition Formula and Mtavari Arkhi stations – indicated that the opposition groups would be able to jointly form a majority in the 150-seat parliament.
– 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 at that time, whose representatives claimed that they were 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.
The leader of the opposition For Georgia party, Giorgi Gakharia, called on the opposition to focus on “defending votes.” – Now the most important thing is to defend votes, not to live in virtual reality. We must stop celebrating and defending votes from all electoral commissions – appealed the politician, quoted by the Echo Kawkaza portal (a branch of Radio Free Europe).
The leader of the opposition United National Movement, Tina Bokuchava, told Reuters that the Georgian people voted for a future in Europe and the loser should admit defeat with dignity and withdraw.
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 groups, although pro-Western, are deeply divided.
Main photo source: Irakli Gedenidze/Forum