(Adnkronos) – “Irregularities happen everywhere, in every country.” This was stated by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, of the Georgian Dream party, in an exclusive interview with the BBC, welcoming the election result but rejecting accusations of rigging and violence. The official preliminary results of the Georgian electoral commission gave the ruling Georgian Dream party an absolute majority of 54%, despite polls by opposition television channels indicating victory for four opposition parties.
The pro-Western president of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, accused the elections of “total falsification” and invited opposition supporters to gather outside parliament. Election observers in this South Caucasus state bordering Russia complained of “uneven conditions” in the elections, suggesting that the extent of violations of voting rights may have influenced the outcome.
The United States and the European Union have supported calls for an independent inquiry. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Georgia’s leaders to “respect the rule of law, repeal legislation that undermines fundamental freedoms, and address together the shortcomings in the electoral process.” However, the prime minister insisted that out of 3,111 polling stations, incidents occurred “only in a couple of constituencies”, but that in all others “the environment was completely peaceful”.
The European Union has responded by freezing Georgia’s application to join the EU, accusing it of “democratic backsliding”. Tbilisi was only granted candidate country status last December and it is estimated that 80% of Georgians want to be part of the 27-nation union. Even before the results were announced, one of the EU leaders, Hungarian Viktor Orbán, congratulated Georgian Dream on securing a fourth term and will be visiting Georgia today.
