Georgia’s President Rejects Vote Result, Urges Protests After Ruling Party Wins Election

A supporter of the Georgian Dream party waves the party's flags from a car after the announcement of exit poll results in parliamentary elections, in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Oct. 26, 2024. Zurab Javakhadze/Reuters

The ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory in Georgia’s parliamentary elections on Oct. 27 with nearly 54 percent of the vote, prompting Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili to call for public protests amid opposition claims that the result favors Russia.

Georgian Dream will take 89 seats in Parliament, determining the country’s geopolitical trajectory in a fourth term in office. Four pro-Western opposition parties received 61 seats in total.

The party’s billionaire founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, characterized the Oct. 26 election as a way of preventing the West from dragging Georgia into a conflict with Russia.

“It is a rare case in the world that the same party achieves such success in such a difficult situation—this is a good indicator of the talent of the Georgian people,” Ivanishvili told supporters on Oct. 27.

Opposition parties contested the election results.

On Oct. 27, Zourabichvili, an opponent of the Georgian Dream party, called on citizens to take to the streets in protest, referring to the election result as a “Russian special operation.”

“I urge our international partners to protect Georgia by standing with the people, not an illegitimate government,” she said.

“Just as you opposed the Russian law, we ask you to stand with us again. These elections are illegitimate, and nothing can change that.”

At a conference on Oct. 28, she said, “As the last independent institution, I cannot recognize these elections—it would legitimize Russia’s takeover of Georgia.”

Coalition for Change opposition party leader Nika Gvaramia called the vote “a constitutional coup” and a “usurpation of power.”

The leader of the United National Movement opposition party, Tina Bokuchava, said the election had been stolen.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied any Russian interference in the vote. Moscow has historically opposed EU expansion in its neighboring regions.

He said there had been attempts by European actors to interfere in the election.

“We strongly reject such accusations [of Russian interference in the vote]—as you know, they have become standard for many countries, Peskov said. ”At the slightest thing, they immediately accuse Russia of interference. No, that is not true. There was no interference and the accusations are absolutely unfounded.”

The European Union said that its election observers reported “an uneven level playing field, a divisive campaign in polarised atmosphere and significant concerns over the impact of recent legislative amendments on this election process.”

The situation may further hinder Georgia’s progress toward EU membership, according to an Oct. 27 analysis by U.S. think tank the Institute for the Study of War.

In an Oct. 27 post on social media platform X, European Council President Charles Michel called on Georgia’s electoral commission to fully investigate the reported violations.

“We reiterate the EU’s call to the Georgian leadership to demonstrate its firm commitment to the country’s EU path,” he said.

“We continue to express deep concerns about the democratic backsliding in Georgia. The conduct of yesterday’s election is unfortunately evidence to that effect,” Antonio López-Istúriz White, head of the European Parliament’s delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, said in an Oct. 27 statement.

“We will continue to closely follow the situation in Georgia to see if the next government chooses to realign with EU values and norms and reverse the negative tendencies of the last months.”

Adam Morrow and Reuters contributed to this report.