European electoral observers said on Sunday Georgia’s election took place in a “divisive” environment with widespread intimidation and instances of physical violence, which undermined the outcome of a vote that could decide the country’s future in Europe.
The Central Election Commission said the ruling Georgian Dream won 54.8 per cent of Saturday’s vote with almost 100 per cent of ballots counted. Following a divisive pre-election campaign, initial figures suggested turnout is the highest since the ruling party was first elected in 2012.
Monitoring officials from the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) said they had multiple 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 ahead of the election in an attempt to “undermine and manipulate the vote,” said Antonio Lopez-Isturiz White, the Nato parliamentary assembly head of the monitoring delegation.
The conduct of the election is evidence that points to the ruling party’s “democratic backsliding,” he said.
Eoghan Murphy, head of the OSCE/ODIHIR observer mission, speaks to the media after the parliamentary election in Georgia, in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Saturday. Photo: AP.
Georgian electoral observers, who were stationed across the country to monitor the vote, also reported multiple violations and said the results “do not correspond to the will of the Georgian people.”