Decisive Georgia vote marred by intimidation, European observers say

TBILISI, Georgia — European observers said Sunday that Georgia’s elections took place in a “climate of hatred and intimidation” with widespread electoral irregularities and incidents of violence, undermining the outcome of a vote that could decide the country’s future in Europe.

The country’s Central Election Commission said the ruling Georgian Dream won 54.8% of the vote on Saturday with almost all ballots counted. After a divisive election campaign, initial results show turnout to be the highest since the ruling party was first elected in 2012.

According to Julian Boulay, head of the PACE delegation observing the elections, there were many concerns about the conduct of the elections, including “a widespread atmosphere of pressure and party-led intimidation,” vote buying and the impartiality of state institutions.

Georgian Dream has become increasingly authoritarian over the past year, passing laws similar to those Russia uses to suppress free speech. Brussels has suspended Georgia’s EU membership process indefinitely due to the “Russian law” adopted in June. Many Georgians saw Saturday’s vote as a referendum on the possibility of joining the European Union.

During the election campaign, Georgian Dream used “anti-Western and hostile rhetoric… promoting Russian disinformation, manipulation and conspiracy theories,” said Antonio Lopez-Isturiz White, head of the European Parliament’s observation delegation.

“Paradoxically, the government further stated that it is continuing Georgia’s European integration,” he added.

The polls, he said, are further evidence pointing to the ruling party’s “backsliding towards democracy.”

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Sunday called Georgian Dream’s victory “impressive and obvious” and said that “any attempt to talk about election manipulation… is doomed to failure.”

Georgian election observers stationed throughout the country also reported numerous irregularities and said the results did not reflect “the will of the Georgian people.”

In the capital Tbilisi, 32-year-old Tiko Gelashvili said: “The published results are simply lies and fraud.”

Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of Georgian Dream who made his fortune in Russia, declared victory almost immediately after polls closed on Saturday.

“It is rare in the world for the same party to achieve such success in such a difficult situation,” he said. Before the elections, he promised to ban opposition parties if his party won.

Tina Bokuchava, chairwoman of the opposition United National Movement party, accused the election commission of carrying out Ivanishvili’s “dirty orders” and said he “stole victory from the Georgian people and thereby stole the European future.”

She noted that the opposition does not recognize the results and “will fight like never before to regain our European future.”

The UNM party said its headquarters were attacked on Saturday, and Georgian media reported that two people were hospitalized after the attack near polling stations.

“The most important question is whether these elections will be recognized by the international community,” said Natia Seskuria, executive director of the Regional Institute for Security Studies in Tbilisi. Georgia’s “economic and political prospects” depend on the elections, she said.

Many Georgians are concerned that the EU could close the door on them and fear the country will become more vulnerable to Russia if Georgian Dream remains in power, she said.

Georgians have a difficult relationship with Russia, which ruled it from Moscow until Georgia gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Russia and Georgia fought a brief war in 2008, and Moscow still occupies 20% of Georgian territory.

Despite this, Georgian Dream has passed Russian-style laws, and many Georgians fear the government is distancing the country from the West and bringing it into Moscow’s orbit.

Election observers said incidents of intimidation and election irregularities were particularly noticeable in rural areas.

Georgian Dream won its largest share of the vote – almost 90% – in the Javakheti region of southern Georgia, 83 miles west of the capital Tbilisi, where it received less than 44% of the vote in any constituency.

The region is predominantly agricultural, and many people are ethnic Armenians, speaking Armenian, Russian, and limited Georgian. Before the election, AP visited a region where voters suggested local officials were instructing them on how to vote. Some have questioned why Georgia needs relations with Europe and suggested that it would be better off aligning itself with Moscow.

According to polls, about 80% of Georgians favor joining the EU, and the country’s constitution obliges its leaders to seek membership in the bloc and NATO.

Associated Press producer Sofiko Megrelidze contributed to this report.