Observers reported a wide range of violations in Georgia's parliamentary elections after the ruling conservative nationalist party was declared the winner on Sunday.
The poll, which could see the country pivot away from its previous orientation towards the EU, has been carefully watched both inside and outside the country.
Observers from several Georgian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) decried significant electoral violations, with the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA) on Sunday reporting numerous instances of individuals casting multiple votes.
The GYLA also stated that election observers had been obstructed in their work. The association demanded that the election commission provide clarity on these issues.
Other NGOs asserted that the results did not reflect the will of the voters. The pro-European opposition, which participated in various coalitions, did not recognize the preliminary results.
The election commission had earlier declared the ruling party Georgian Dream led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili the winner with an absolute majority after counting almost all the votes.
International election observers also expressed concern about numerous irregularities following the parliamentary election in Georgia.
There had been instances of voter intimidation, pressure on authorities, violence against observers, vote-buying, multiple voting and ballot stuffing, the mission from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) reported in the capital, Tbilisi.
They called for an investigation into these incidents and urged further democratic reforms.
At the same time, mission chief Pascal Allizard praised the democratic vitality of the South Caucasus republic, despite certain setbacks. There were a total of 18 options on the ballot papers, he noted. The Frenchman stated that the election was, overall, well organized.
Other observers also highlighted the strong presence of civil society, ensuring the oversight of voting and vote counting.
The OSCE observers expressed concern about the new authoritarian laws in the country, criticized by the European Union and the United States, and the overall polarized situation.
Georgia is an EU candidate country, but the process is currently stalled due to these controversial laws.
Georgian Dream secured 54.09% of the votes after almost all the ballots were counted, Central Election Commission (CEC) head Giorgi Kalandarishvili said earlier Sunday in the capital Tbilisi.
After counting the votes from 99.6% of the constituencies, some votes from abroad were still missing, Kalandarishvili announced. The provisional official final result was therefore still pending.
The pro-European opposition coalitions have said that there would be demonstrations, claiming their own victory in the polls instead.
Following the publication of the initial results, Georgia's pro-Western President Salome Zourabichvili declared that the opposition had received a total of 52% of the vote and could form a majority in parliament.
In contrast, the election commission put the four opposition blocs that managed to pass the 5% hurdle at over 37% of the votes.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, also from Georgian Dream, rejected accusations of electoral fraud, saying said that any effort to prove that the election had been manipulated was doomed to failure. "Our victory is obvious," he said.
However, the opposition in the former Soviet republic on the Black Sea is divided, prompting the emergence of election coalitions before the vote.
The Unity coalition, led by the largest opposition party in the 2020 parliamentary elections, the United National Movement, received around 10% of the vote, according to the electoral commission.
The rival Coalition for Change is therefore the strongest opposition alliance with around 11% of the votes counted. Two other opposition blocs each received less than 10%.
The opposition fears the country will turn away from its course of joining the European Union, with the incumbent leadership drawing upon images of destruction in Ukraine as a possible consequence of voting for pro-Western parties.
A total of around 3.5 million Georgians at home and abroad were called to vote. According to preliminary figures, voter turnout was around 59% - three percentage points higher than in 2020.
Georgia has a population of 3.7 million and has been an EU accession candidate since the end of 2023. However, the accession process is currently on hold due to controversial laws.
The traditionally divided opposition also fears that Georgia, under the leadership of Ivanishvili, who made his fortune in Moscow, will turn further towards its neighbour Russia and finally abandon the EU course.
Meanwhile, Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream, promised peace and stability during the election campaign - and fuelled fears of war with Russia should the opposition win.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev were the first to congratulate Georgian Dream on its victory.
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