On October 26, more than 2 million Georgians voted in the parliamentary election, representing 58.94%. Official results released by the Central Election Commission, with almost 100% of precincts accounted for, show that the ruling Georgian Dream Party won the parliamentary elections, securing 53.92%, while four coalitions of opposition parties who passed the threshold of the election totaled 37.78%.
All four opposition parties who exceeded the 5% threshold rejected official election results. They claimed that the elections had been rigged on election day as well as beforehand. Two of the four parties, Coalition for Change and Unity-United National Movement, announced that they were renouncing their mandates as MPs. Nana Malashkhia from Coalition for Change, the “woman holding the EU flag”, said: “We renounced our parliamentary mandates.”
Salome Zurabishvili, at a briefing, also refused to acknowledge the election results which gave victory to GD. She called on citizens to gather in Rustaveli Avenue near the parliament on October 28, to show the world Georgians don’t recognize the results. Zurabishvili, surrounded by leaders of the opposition political parties he described the elections as “total fraud”. “We were both witnesses and victims of an operation by the Russians,” she said.
The International Election Observation Mission released its Preliminary Results and Conclusions for the October 26 Parliamentary Elections. It stated that the elections were held amid “entrenched polarization” and “reports of voter pressure, especially on public sector workers, remained widespread during the campaign.”
The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, a local election watchdog in Georgia, also released a statement concluding its election day observations, indicating that it is possible the results of the parliamentary election do not accurately reflect the wishes of Georgian voters. ISFED states that the results of ISFED’s Parallel Vote Tabulation are in line with those announced by the Central Election Commission. However, ISFED notes “violations of a fundamental character observed on election day affected the expression of free will of voters.”
Joe Wilson, the Chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, issued a statement to the U.S. State Department on October 27, calling for an investigation into the allegations of fraud and Russian meddling in the Parliamentary elections held in Georgia on October 26. “I am disturbed by the credible accusations of systematic violations during the Georgian parliamentary elections. I am also concerned by the well-documented attempts by Russia to influence the election. As such, I urge the U.S. Department of State, to carefully examine the accusations of fraud and, if it is determined that this was the case, make a clear declaration to that effect,” Wilson stated in a press release.
Senior European parliamentarians and their Canadian counterparts issued a joint declaration declaring that the “elections were neither free nor fairly” and that the “European Union cannot recognise the results.” They are calling for sanctions to be imposed on “those who are responsible for unfair electoral influences, intimidation and threats against the Opposition and Civil Society.”
Foreign Ministers from European countries, EU officials and members of the European Parliament have reacted to Saturday’s Parliamentary Elections. They expressed concern about serious irregularities, a lack of transparency and an unfair playing field. They also called on the authorities to investigate. Azerbaijan’s, Armenia’s, and Hungary’s leaders congratulated Irakli Kobakhidze for the victory of the Georgian Dream in the parliamentary election. You can find more information on the international reactions to the results of the elections here.
According to the Georgian government administration, Viktor Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary, is scheduled to visit Tbilisi in October. The visit will take place over two days, from October 28-29. PM Orban will travel with a delegation of Hungarian officials and ministers. Hungary’s leader congratulated Hungary’s ruling party for its alleged win at a time even preliminary results were not announced and only conflicting polls had been released.
Read More @ civil.ge