Zürcher Nachrichten - Georgia: Ruling party celebrates election victory

Did the Russian terrorist state have its dirty fingers in the pie and did war criminal Vladimir Putin (72) manage to undermine democracy in Georgia with the help of money and corruption?

The ruling Georgian Dream party has become increasingly authoritarian and has passed laws similar to those used by Russia to clamp down on free speech. After one such law was passed earlier this year, Brussels suspended Georgia's EU accession process.

If the victory of ‘Georgian Dream’ is confirmed, it will be a blow to those Georgians who are hoping for closer integration with Europe and see the election as a choice between the West and Russia.

According to the first official results, with 70% of polling stations counted, which represents the majority of votes cast, the ruling party received 53% of the vote, according to the election commission. The results do not include most of the votes cast by Georgians living abroad.

‘The Georgian people have voted for this country's European future and therefore we will not accept these falsified results published by the Central Election Commission,’ said Tina Bokuchava, leader of the opposition United National Movement.

‘We Vote’, a Georgian coalition of election observers, said the results “do not reflect the will of the Georgian people”, pointing to multiple reports of voter intimidation and vote-buying.

‘We will continue to demand the cancellation of the results,’ it said. Post-election polls showed widely divergent projections for the election: Imedi TV, a TV station supporting “Georgian Dream”, showed the ruling party winning with 56 %. Polls from opposition broadcasters after the election showed the opposition parties making big gains.

Ivanishvili, the reclusive billionaire founder of Georgian Dream and former prime minister, claimed victory and praised the Georgian people. ‘It is a rare case in the world for the same party to achieve such success in such a difficult situation – this is a good indicator of the talent of the Georgian people,’ Ivanishvili told cheering supporters.

The question is, should these election results stand, in which direction will Georgia drift, towards Europe or towards the terrorist state of Russia and its authoritarian dictator and mass murderer Vladimir Putin?