TBILISI -- Pro-Western Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who has broken with the ruling Georgian Dream party, said she will not recognize the results of parliamentary elections held on October 26 and said that the country has been the victim of a “Russian special operation.”
Zurabishvili did not present any evidence to back up her claim.
Speaking at a news conference on October 27, Zurabishvili called for street protests in the South Caucasus nation, which has seen mass demonstrations in recent months against the ruling Georgian Dream party, which critics accuse of being pro-Russian and of having eroded democratic norms.
The Georgian Dream party celebrated an apparent win in the vote, but the pro-Western opposition called foul and election monitors said that “critical violations took place,” including voter intimidation and physical violence.
Western observers also demanded an investigation into alleged irregularities.
With ballots from more than 99.6 percent of precincts counted, Georgia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) said that Georgian Dream took 54.8 percent of the vote.
However, polls commissioned by the opposition indicated far lower numbers for Georgian Dream, led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Nearly all opposition parties have refused to accept the results reported by the election authorities.
WATCH: Georgia's Pro-Western opposition leaders say they will not recognize the results of the country's parliamentary elections on October 26, claiming the pivotal vote was "stolen."
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Georgia's Pro-Western Opposition Refuses To Recognize Election Results As Ruling Party Leads
The vote was seen as a crucial test of the EU-candidate country’s democratic credentials, and one that Brussels had said could determine Georgia’s chances of joining the bloc.
Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban -- an ally of the Georgian Dream leadership -- is set to visit Tbilisi on October 28-29, officials said on October 27.
Orban, who was the first foreign leader to congratulate Georgian Dream following the parliamentary elections -- weighing in before first official results were announced – is scheduled to hold a news conference with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze following the meetings.
Amid the concerns expressed in the West over the results, Orban wrote on social media that Georgian Dream had scored an "overwhelming victory."
'Stolen Election'
Members of the opposition, claiming the early returns were fraudulent, promised to contest the results, leading to the possibility of legal wrangling and street protests.
Tina Bokuchava, chairwoman of the United National Movement, which leads the Unity To Save Georgia coalition, announced early on October 27 that “we do not intend to recognize the outcome of this stolen election.”
Zurabishvili, writing on social media as early returns came in late on October 26, declared that the top four opposition parties had themselves taken enough of the vote to form a parliamentary majority.
Zurabishvili later said there had been "deeply troubling incidents of violence" at some polling stations.
In the meantime, initial assessments by election monitors painted a dire picture of voting day.
A joint observer mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Council of Europe, European Parliament, and NATO said in a statement that election day was "marred by an uneven playing field, pressure, and tension.”
While generally well-organized, the observers said there was a “tense environment” and that the uneven playing field “undermines trust in the outcome.” In the end, the process was “not enough to bring an election in line with international democratic principles,” the observers said in a joint statement.
The OSCE also decried recorded instances of vote buying, double voting, physical violence, and intimidation.
EU Council President Charles Michel said the alleged irregularities in the voting process “must be seriously clarified and addressed.”
'Critical Violations'
Antonio Lopez-Isturiz White, the head of the European Parliament monitoring delegation, said Georgian Dream used hostile rhetoric and “promoted Russian disinformation” and conspiracy theories ahead of the election in an attempt to “undermine and manipulate the vote.”
"During our observation, we noted cases of vote buying and double voting before and during elections, especially in rural areas," said Romanian lawmaker Iulian Bulai, head of the delegation sent by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), speaking at a joint news conference held in Tbilisi by heads of election-observation missions.
"The presence of cameras of the ruling party in the polling stations and people in front of polling stations tracking and possibly controlling voters let widespread climate of pressure and party-organized intimidation, and the feeling of 'Big Brother is watching you,' as one of our observers depicted it," Bulai said. "I should also mention that while observing inside a polling station in the countryside, one of the PACE teams had its car vandalized."
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Vote Buying, Double Voting In Georgian Elections, Observer Says
The European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO) said in its assessment on October 27 that the elections were marred by a polarized and restrictive environment that undermined inclusiveness, transparency, and fairness.
“Critical violations” that were reported by the organization’s 95 observers included violence against opposition politicians, voter intimidation, smear campaigns against election observers, and misuse of administrative resources related to the election.
The nongovernmental organization Fair Elections (ISFED) said that it had not recorded major problems with the vote count but that vote itself fell short due to voter intimidation.
“The preelection environment and the facts revealed on election day had a significant impact on the election and its results,” said ISFED chief Nino Dolidze. “Many problematic incidents and violations were observed during the voting process.”
Russian Dreaming
Georgian Dream, in power since 2012, used to pursue a pro-Western agenda but in the last two years has reversed course toward Russia.
Perceived efforts by the government to curtail democratic rights, including the adoption of a “foreign influence” bill akin to that of Russia’s “foreign agent law” led to mass protests in Georgia and criticism from Brussels earlier this year.
That Georgian Dream was poised to extend its control of parliament despite exit polls indicating it would not fare so well triggered outrage among the opposition.
Two opposition exit polls predicted that Georgian Dream would not receive more than 42 percent of the vote, whereas the results had it winning more than 54 percent.
The polls also suggested that four opposition parties -- the Coalition for Change, Unity-To Save Georgia, Strong Georgia, and For Georgia -- would combined have a clear majority, whereas the official initial results had them receiving only 37 percent combined.
The official early results had the four positioned to cross the 5 percent threshold to secure seats in parliament.