Democracy currently hangs in the balance in Georgia. On 26 October, millions of Georgians gathered to vote in the parliamentary elections, and the outcome has come into question.
The stakes were high going into this election. Prior to the elections, many Georgians viewed the parliamentary elections as an opportunity for change. The ruling party in the Georgian parliament, Georgian Dream, had a poor favorability rating. Thousands of Georgians also believed that Georgian Dream was out of touch with voters.
According to polls conducted independently by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI), over 79 percent of Georgians support future Georgian membership with the European Union. Georgian citizens view closer ties with the EU as a way to improve the socioeconomic climate in their country. They also believe that Western democracy, traditions, and values would bring peace and prosperity to their country.
Georgian Dream, however, has governed differently. While Georgian citizens have called for greater transparency and anticorruption reforms within their country, there has been reported backsliding in the Georgian government. For example, Georgian Dream has sought to implement surveillance mechanisms across the country. The ruling party has imprisoned members of the opposition and it targeted opposition members. The political party has also attempted to use fear tactics to dissuade the opposition. For example, Georgian Dream falsely accused opposition members of staging a coup to try to oust Georgian Dream from power, and the political party also distanced its involvement with various European political organizations. Finally, rather than strengthening ties with the EU, the ruling political party in Georgia was maintaining relations with Russia, which still illegally occupies Georgian territory.
Georgian citizens did not appreciate these actions taken by Georgian Dream. Rather than support these corrupt acts, Georgian citizens demanded that their government adopt Western practices and traditions. These citizens, along with members of the Georgian opposition and Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, geared up for the parliamentary election believing that Georgian Dream would be easily defeated.
According to independent exit polls, the opposition movement within Georgia was successful. Millions of residents in Tbilisi and the Georgian diaspora voted overwhelmingly against Georgian Dream. President Zourabichvili also announced that the European Georgian parties won 52% of the vote.
But Georgian Dream told another story. In exit polls and media stations controlled by the government, sources stated that the ruling Georgian political party had defeated their opponents and that they would remain in power.
Russian politician Sergey Lebedev, the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States, praised the election results. Similarly, the editor of the Russian state media outlet RT congratulated Georgian Dream. Finally, Russian officials stated they were ready to help Georgian Dream “retain power” if the ruling party’s authority came into question.
But the results were questioned by Georgian citizens and the international community. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili stated that Georgian Dream had fabricated the results, and she called for nationwide protests. In addition, the Coalition for Change, Unity, and Strong Georgia, three of the four Georgian charter signatories, did not recognize the preliminary election results issued by Georgian Dream.
The opposition movement was not the only group to call the Georgian parliamentary elections illegitimate. For example, prominent politicians from the governments of Canada, Estonia, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, and Ukraine said that they would not recognize the results of the parliamentary election. Instead, the joint statement issued by these politicians noted that the elections in Georgia were “neither free nor fair.”
Similarly, DNI, IRI, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe sent international observers to monitor the parliamentary elections. These organizations noted numerous violations. Several ballot boxes had been stuffed with illegitimate ballots supporting Georgian Dream. Transparency International’s division in Georgian also reported election fraud. There were violent incidences recorded where citizens voting against Georgian Dream were beaten and attacked by Georgian Dream supporters. In addition, some reports stated that Georgian Dream intimidated citizens during the voting process.
Now, the situation in Georgia is uncertain. Numerous organizations that sent election observers reported voter fraud, and several countries have deemed the election results as illegitimate. Thousands of Georgians are now prepared to protest across the country, calling for Georgian Dream to step down.
Time will tell how these events unfold. But for now, the Western world and Russia will be watching the situation anxiously. Georgia cannot be allowed to succumb to Georgian Dream’s election meddling and malign influence.
Mark Temnycky is an accredited freelance journalist covering Eurasian affairs and a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. He can be found on X @MTemnycky
