Georgia’s opposition is rallying its supporters after the pro Russian party claimed a tainted victory of 54%, setting the scene for the Kremlin tightening its grip on Europe.
After two decades of the Rose Revolution, Georgia was still stuck in a political impasse.
By October 2024 the nation would have to make a crucial decision: either to reaffirm their Western-aligned course or to continue their drift towards Russia — a change that had gained momentum since the pro Russian Georgian Dream Party rose to power in 2012
In the last decade, the Georgian Dream shifted away from its initial promises for European integration to a more ambiguous position that many see as increasingly influenced with Russian interests. Recent legislative changes, including the controversial “foreign agent” law passed in May, have highlighted this shift.
This law, which was inspired by a similar Russian law, requires foreign-funded organizations to register as “foreign agencies,” causing fears of a Kremlin style crackdown on independent media and civil society.
The stakes soared during the 26th October parliamentary election, as the pro-European opponents were determined to push against Georgian Dream’s Russian-inspired “foreign agent” law from May – a sign that battle lines are still being drawn.
Voting day in doubt
They had the chance to unite, but internal disputes caused them to split. Instead, they divided into three alliances, and one additional party. All of them pushed for faster integration with Europe. They hoped that they could gather enough votes to defeat the ruling party, and gain control of parliament through a coalition majority.
Georgia’s opposition, by refusing to unite under one banner, missed the chance to make this election a decisive decision about the future of the country in Europe. They also lost votes, especially from those who did not want to support a particular party. They also struggled to articulate their vision of policies beyond EU integration which further undermined their appeal.
The election atmosphere reached boiling point after Central Election Commission (CEC), announced on Sunday evening that the ruling Georgian Dream Party had won with 53.92%, defeating four pro European opponents who received 37.75%.
The opposition parties disputed results, claiming widespread fraud in the election and accusing Georgian Dream that it used its influence to sway results to its favor. They also vowed to contest the results.
Euromaidan Press quoted a senior opposition source as saying: “The fraud that we estimated at around 5% is much higher.”
The results of these elections may have significant ramifications on the political future of Eastern European Democracies. They could affect not only Georgia, but also Ukraine’s attempts to resist Russian aggression. This is a critical situation for other Eastern European countries caught between East and the West, struggling to integrate into Europe while dealing with Russia’s hybrid intervention.
The high-stakes election has drawn parallels with Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution, and 2014 Euromaidan Revolution. In these pivotal moments, Ukraine rejected electoral fraud that gave an electoral victory to pro Russian President Yanukovych, and his subsequent reversal on Ukraine’s pro Western path.
The aggressive bid by Russia to regain its sphere in the region is seen in the 2014 invasion of Ukraine that culminated in a full-scale war in 2022. This scenario haunted Georgian’s election campaign, where the ruling Georgian Dream Party positioned itself as the “party for peace.”
The campaign of the party made waves when it featured billboards showing Ukrainian cities devastated by Russian forces. The campaign aimed to undermine the pro-European opponents by highlighting the destruction.
Georgia gripped by fraud allegations
WeVote.ge monitored polling stations across the country and reported widespread fraud. The Georgian Dream orchestrated a large-scale scheme to rig results, including distributing prefilled ballots and confiscating personal ID cards.
Euromaidan Press was told by a We.Vote attorney at its headquarters that “we’ve seen electronic ballots rigged de facto in favor of the ruling parties or voters were given multiple ballots.”
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