**German Elections End, but Georgia Remembers Its Own**
Parliamentary elections have ended in Germany. The results are clear: Friedrich Merz‘s party won. What is notable about this election is that exit polls matched the final results, and the losing candidate congratulated the winner.
This is a far cry from what happened in Georgia. Our own parliamentary elections had “Georgian Dream” as the declared winner, but international organizations‘ exit polls showed they received 13% fewer votes than they actually got. This is suspicious, especially when combined with reports of vote-buying and intimidation.
**Fair Elections are Key**
For a country to be united, fair elections are essential. When people trust the process, they can focus on finding common ground and working together. But when elections are rigged, it creates division and undermines trust in institutions.
In Georgia’s case, the opposition parties won more votes than “Georgian Dream”, but were declared losers anyway. This is unacceptable. Fair elections should lead to a change in government, not a retention of power by one party.
**A Message from Kakha Okriashvili**
Kakha Okriashvili, a Georgian politician, recently spoke out about the importance of fair elections. He said: “We cannot achieve progress and victory without unity… Unity will never be possible unless fair elections are held.”