The president of Georgia said Sunday the country was the victim of a Russian "special operation" to throw the results of its parliamentary election. Standing with the opposition, Salome Zourabichvili said she does not recognize the results of the vote, the AP reports. She called on Georgians to come to the main street of the capital at 7pm Monday to protest the result, saying it was a "total falsification, total stealing of your votes." European electoral observers said Sunday the election took place in a "climate of hatred and intimidation" with multiple violations and instances of physical violence, undermining the vote that could decide the country's future in Europe.
The Central Election Commission said the ruling Georgian Dream won 54.8% of Saturday's vote with almost 100% of ballots counted. Monitoring officials from the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe said they had concerns about the conduct of the election that include vote buying, double voting, physical violence, and intimidation. Georgian Dream, the ruling party, used hostile rhetoric and "promoted Russian disinformation" and conspiracy theories ahead of the election in an attempt to "undermine and manipulate the vote," said Antonio Lopez-Isturiz White, head of the European Parliament monitoring delegation. Georgian electoral observers, who were stationed across the country, also reported multiple violations and said the results "do not correspond to the will of the Georgian people."
Georgian Dream has become increasingly authoritarian, adopting laws similar to those used by Russia against freedom of speech. Brussels suspended Georgia's EU membership process indefinitely because of a "Russian law" passed in June. Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of Georgian Dream who made his fortune in Russia, claimed victory almost immediately after polls closed and said, "It is rare in the world for the same party to achieve such success in such a difficult situation." He had vowed ahead of the election to ban opposition parties should his party win. Tina Bokuchava, chair of the United National Movement opposition party, accused the election commission of carrying out Ivanishvili's "dirty order" and said he "stole the victory from the Georgian people." She indicated the opposition will not recognize the results and "will fight like never before to reclaim our European future." This file has been updated with the president's statement.
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