Georgia deadlocked after contested legislative elections
The founder of Georgian Dream, the ruling party in Georgia, businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili, at a press conference on October 31, 2020 in Tbilisi.
Georgian Dream Party Press office via AP
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
Georgia seems this Sunday, November 1 on the brink of political crisis.
The opposition calls for massive demonstrations to contest the result of the legislative elections of Saturday, October 31, which the ruling party narrowly won, according to the electoral commission.
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According to the results published by the electoral commission, after counting more than 72% of the votes, the Georgian Dream, the ruling party of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, obtained 48.5% of the vote against 45% for the opposition.
The proportional vote must renew 120 of the 150 seats in the assembly in this mountainous country of approximately four million inhabitants.
Bidzina Ivanishvili, a 64-year-old former prime minister, said the Georgian Dream "
has won the elections for the third time in a row
".
“
The Georgians have elected a great team
,” he added.
This is not the opinion of the leader of the opposition, the former president in exile Mikheïl Saakashvili, 52 years old.
The Georgian Dream "
massively falsifies the election results
," he said.
Speaking from Ukraine where he
works for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
, he called on opposition supporters to "
mass mobilize to defend the votes
".
Victory claimed by both camps
The ruling party and the opposition had both claimed victory as early as Saturday after the publication of exit polls giving contradictory results.
The formation led by Mikheïl Saakashvili, the United National Movement (UNM), succeeded in bringing together several opposition groups this year to confront the Georgian Dream of Bidzina Ivanishvili, in power since 2012. The opposition parties had agreed to form a government of national unity in the event of victory, Mikheïl Saakashvili announced.
Georgia is a rare democratic example among the former USSR republics but is regularly shaken by anti-government protests.
While a post-election crisis could threaten its stability, the election is being watched closely by its
Western allies
, especially the United States.
On Facebook, the American ambassador in Tbilisi, Kelly Degnan, indicated that the international community was following the ballot because "
Georgian voters deserve to participate in a free and fair election
".
Charismatic leader
According to the Electoral Commission, the turnout was around 56% despite the coronavirus epidemic, against 51% during the 2016 legislative elections. Due to complex electoral rules, the final results may not be known until the end of November.
Mikheil Saakashvili, a charismatic leader, has enjoyed an incredible political career in recent years.
In 2013, he had to flee the country after his second term because he feared he would be arrested on charges of abuse of power.
On Saturday, he maintained that he did not have the ambition of "
a post in the
Georgian
government
", even if his return to the country was envisaged in the event of victory of the opposition.
In eight years in power, the Georgian Dream Party has seen its popularity crumble against a backdrop of economic stagnation and accusations of undermining democracy.
Its leader, Bidzina Ivanishvili, is accused of exerting pressure on his opponents and promoting corruption.
"
An oligarch who owns 40% of the country's wealth has appropriated it and runs it as his fiefdom,
" said Mikheïl Saakachvili, interviewed by AFP.
Atlanticist ambition
Thanks to a reform strengthening proportional representation, small parties have a better chance of entering Parliament this year: they will only need to obtain more than 1% of the vote.
Electoral reform will make “
the pluralism of Parliament
”
strong
, Prime Minister Guiorgui Gakharia said, assuring that a victory for his camp will bring Georgia closer to the European Union and NATO.
This Atlanticist ambition, shared by both camps, is very badly perceived in Moscow.
By August 2008, tensions had escalated into a lightning war between Georgia and Russia.
After this five-day conflict lost by Tbilisi, the Kremlin recognized the independence of two secessionist republics, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
with agencies
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