The Georgian opposition said on Monday it would attempt to repeat the parliamentary election, as protesters prepared to demonstrate against the election result.
Despite ample evidence of irregularities, Georgia's electoral commission declared the incumbent conservative nationalist Georgian Dream party the winner of Saturday's election with a vote share of about 54%, according to preliminary figures.
The pro-Western president of the country, Salome Zourabichvili, on Monday called for a mass demonstration against the election result, set to take place on Monday evening at 7 pm (2300 GMT) in the capital Tbilisi.
Zourabichvili described the results as a complete falsification and said she suspected Russian influence: "we have become witnesses and victims of a Russian special operation."
The pro-European opposition does not recognize the official result either, with the largest opposition bloc saying it would not take up its seats in parliament.
The secretary general of the Georgian Dream party, Kakha Kaladze, called Zourabichvili's insinuations disgraceful.
Georgia's further rapprochement with the European Union was at stake in the election.
The former Soviet republic on Russia's southern border is a candidate for EU membership. However, Brussels has put accession talks on hold because of several repressive laws that the Georgian Dream has pushed through this year.
The dominant figure in the conservative nationalist Georgian Dream party is billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who made his fortune in Moscow, and favours reconciliation with Russia and cooperation with China.
Russia denies interference
The Kremlin has denied that Russia interfered in the election, saying that European states were the ones to have put pressure on Georgia.
"Many forces from European states and European institutions have tried to influence the outcome of the vote," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies.
Western states call for clarification of irregularities
Georgian and international observers noted numerous irregularities during the election on Saturday.
They recorded vote buying, pressure on voters, the mass dropping of voting slips into ballot boxes and the abuse of state influence in favour of the government.
The observers said however that there was a wide choice between the 18 parties on the ballot.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Georgia's political leaders must "address deficiencies in the electoral process" in a post on X.
European Council President Charles Michel also called on the electoral commission and relevant authorities to "swiftly, transparently and independently investigate and adjudicate electoral irregularities and allegations thereof" in a post on X.
Michel said he would put Georgia on the agenda of the informal EU summit in Budapest scheduled for November 8.
The foreign policy spokesman of Germany's conservative Christian Democrats, Jürgen Hardt, has called for the vote to be repeated.
"A repeat election is urgently needed and is a condition for further cooperation with Georgia," Hardt told dpa.
"The international community must strengthen the position of President Salome Zourabichvili until the Georgian electorate is finally allowed to cast their votes freely and these are counted in a comprehensible manner," he said.
Zourabichvili had previously said Western states' support would be needed to repeat the election.
Georgian prime minister reaffirms EU course
The Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the Georgian Dream had on Monday tried to ease the tense political situation in the country by reassuring voters that the country remained committed to the European Union.
Georgia wants to fully integrate into the European Union by 2030, he said at a government meeting in Tbilisi.
The prime minister was quoted in the Georgian media as saying that he expects a fresh start in the difficult relationship with the EU in the coming year.
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