A Dream, Dashed

The ruling Georgian Dream party won parliamentary elections over the weekend, a victory that dashed hopes for a closer relationship with Europe and one that opposition parties swiftly disputed, citing irregularities at the polls, Reuters reported.

With nearly all precincts counted, the Central Election Commission said Sunday that Georgian Dream had secured more than 54 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, the main opposition parties, the Coalition for Change and the United National Movement (UNM), won 10.8 percent and 10.1 percent of the vote, respectively, according to CNN.

Georgian Dream founder and billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili celebrated the results as an “exceptional success” and claimed they reflect the people’s choice for peace and stability.

However, opposition parties disputed the outcome, alleging that the ruling party stole the vote and describing the results as “a constitutional coup.” Competing exit polls showed opposition groups with a majority, fueling claims that Georgian Dream had manipulated results.

Reports of election violations also stoked tensions: International monitors, including the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), documented instances of voter intimidation, ballot-stuffing and incidents of violence at polling stations, the BBC noted.

The opposition has threatened to hold mass protests, with analysts noting that the results will have critical implications for Georgia’s future.

The former Soviet Republic aspires to join the European Union, with polls showing that more than 80 percent of Georgians support joining the bloc.

In 2023, Georgia received candidate-accession status, but the EU froze Tbilisi’s bid to join the bloc earlier this year citing Georgian Dream’s increasingly authoritarian policies.

While the governing party – in power since 2012 – remains officially committed to EU membership, it has pushed the country closer to Russia in recent years: Recently, the Georgian Dream-controlled parliament passed a “foreign agents” law targeting organizations that receive Western funding – legislation that critics said resembles Russian laws passed in 2022.

Georgia Dream has also campaigned to keep Georgia out of the Ukraine war and has accused the opposition of being part of a “global war party.”

Meanwhile, voting was also marred by concerns of Russian interference after a Georgian monitoring group warned of a Moscow-backed campaign aimed at influencing the election.

The Kremlin denied the allegations, countering that Western governments are trying to incite unrest.