Georgia: Salomé Zourabichvili elected unsurprisingly president

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Salomé Zourabichvili, surrounded by her children after the announcement of the results, at her campaign headquarters in Tbilisi on November 28, 2018. REUTERS / David Mdzinarishvili

Salomé Zourabichvili was elected President of Georgia. The recent constitutional changes made this post symbolic above all, but these elections were a test for the ruling Georgian Dream party as well as for democracy in itself in this former Soviet Caucasus Republic.

The victory of Salomee Zourabishvili , former ambassador of France in the country, marks the end of a fierce campaign. The Georgian Dream, the party in power since 2012 and supporting the independent candidacy of the elected president, went so far as to treat its opponents as Nazis.

Opposite, the United National Movement (MNU), heir to former exiled president Mikheil Saakashvili, described the candidate as arrogant traitor.

The two parties will again have to play the game of democracy in the 2020 legislative elections that will elect the first Parliament of the new parliamentary regime.

And it is precisely the respect of the democratic rules closely watched by the European Union and NATO, two organizations that the small country of the Caucasus would like to integrate.

The opposition accuses the government of intimidating voters. Georgian Dream activists reportedly assaulted opposition members. According to three Georgian NGOs, the government also rigged the second round in favor of Salome Zourabishvili. Once the victory is celebrated, the party in power will have to answer these accusations.