Nikoloz Samkharadze has refuted accusations of electoral fraud following Georgian Dream’s recent victory. He attributes the claims to opposition tactics, and disinformation spread through foreign media.
“Since Georgian Dream won convincingly and logically in Georgia‘s parliamentary elections this weekend, an organized campaign has begun to take shape. Its goal is to discredit the election once again by calling it mildly irregular at first (when opposition hoped to win), and then quickly moving on to’stolen,’ when the results began to come in. The opposition has been escalating the ‘rigging” claims by exaggerating a few cases of irregularities in a few precincts.
We’ve seen this before. The opposition has been denying the legitimacy of the government after every election that Georgian Dream has won since 2012, and this was the ninth. This was the situation in 2020, and even in 2016, when Georgian Dream had the outright constitutional majority. All these unsubstantiated allegations were later proven to be false. However, the artificially created ‘perception of fraud’ persists.
These false claims have become even more offensive now that the elections were conducted using three additional safeguards to prevent fraud, as recommended by our international partners and the European Union in particular. First, they were the first proportional elections conducted by party lists and not single-mandate electorates, to eliminate the influence of big money and the government’s “administrative resource”. Second, the election was conducted almost exclusively using electronic ballot machines in order to avoid any rigging during the counting stage. Third, there was an army of local and international observers, including representatives from domestic political parties, who were at every precinct to closely monitor the voting process, as well as the counting and verification stages.
The opposition was unable to handle the defeat. As usual, they began to blame their defeat on the Government rather than their own inept pre-election campaigns. How can you win an election when your entire campaign is dedicated to criticizing the government through TV channels and social networks, without meeting the people or providing an alternative substantive vision or plan to the electorate.
While the opposition’s response was predictable, the harsh criticism coming from the West, is to say the least, odd. Some of our international allies have again fallen victim to the massive misinformation campaigns by the opposition and their controlled press, who, ironically, targeted their international patrons rather than their own constituencies. This deliberate campaign has led to some Westerners forming opinions that are totally opposite of what the majority Georgians believe.
There are also foreigners that have actively participated in the Georgian electoral campaign. They supported and even directed the efforts of the opposition. The defeat of the opposition is also the defeat of these foreigners, which explains the bitter reaction they have to the results of the Georgian elections.
Remember that the people, and not foreigners, are the ones who vote.
Here are some myths that are widely held internationally but make no sense to Georgians. This explains the mismatch between the perceptions of foreigners and Georgians. However, the Georgians determined the outcome of the vote.
First, the Georgian Dream in reality is a Russian Dream. While the Georgian government has a long-standing, Western-advised and responsible policy of strategic patient towards Russia, no evidence has been found of any compromises made to Georgia’s territorial integrity or sovereignty, nor of any influence from Moscow on Georgian Government decisions or policies. The people prefer the peace that this policy brings over a potential war. The restoration of trade with Russia also benefited large sections of the Georgian populace economically, which contributed to the victory of Georgian Dream.
Second, the Georgian Dream has anti-European tendencies. This is an especially nasty accusation, because it was Georgian Dream who took the country from outsiders to the EU’s policies to signing the Association and Free Trade Agreements and winning visa-free travel and, then, receiving EU candidate country status. Georgian Dream’s success was based on two major decisions: the first was the constitutional clause that made European integration and Euro-Atlantic cooperation the country’s top priority, and the second was the formal application to EU membership promised by GD 2020’s electoral program.
Third, that GD’s undemocratic. Contrary to the propaganda of the opposition and their foreign supporters, Georgians are enjoying the benefits of the true democratic transition since 2012. Georgians are able to enjoy the benefits of the democratic transformation, despite the opposition’s and their foreign supporters’ propaganda. These achievements contrast sharply against the former government’s (and the current opposition’s dismal authoritarian policies between 2004 and 2012).
Fourth, Georgia’s economy is stagnating. Georgian Dream has, on the contrary, tripled GDP and national budget in the past 12 years. It has also halved unemployment, increased business opportunities, and protected property rights. The reduction in poverty was a major achievement, and helped hundreds of thousands Georgians to escape decades of hardship. The economic growth was accompanied by an increase in social safety guarantees, such as healthcare, social welfare and pensions.
Fifth, GD is out of touch with the people. Our party representatives are very active in all parts of Georgia. Our electoral delegates have first-hand experience with local issues. And, most importantly, we ran the most energetic and vibrant campaign for these election, meeting citizens in the whole country. The opposition lacked the personal touch, and they can only blame themselves. The fact that GD made Georgia’s historical national values – homelands, mother tongues, and faith – the cornerstones for governance and electoral campaigns, made us more popular with the public. Identity politics are important, and the opposition has lost touch with people’s real aspirations.
Our critics in the West are missing these facts. The twin nemeses of democracy are political polarization and misinformation. Georgia is suffering from both due to the opposition’s intransigence. It is therefore not surprising that some in Western countries have been misled by disinformation about Georgia and thus missed what Georgians truly believe. Samkharadze said, “Our priority is our people and not foreigners. We have been rewarded for what we believe, and do.
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