The Government and the opposition declare themselves winners in Georgia on the shut of the polls | International | EUROtoday

Both the ruling celebration in Georgia for twelve years, Georgian Dream (SG), and the pro-Western opposition events have declared themselves winners this Saturday of the elections within the Caucasian nation on the shut of the polls, when three totally different polls have been revealed on the exit ballot with completely contradictory outcomes. Gorbi, linked to the ruling celebration, maintains that SG has obtained 56% of the votes for 37% of the principle opposition events, which might give it an absolute majority in Parliament. While Mtvari and Edison, linked to opposition media, give SG between 41% and 42% of the votes, in comparison with between 48% and 52% that they offer to the 4 opposition coalitions, which earlier than the elections They had agreed on a joint program within the occasion of victory aimed toward returning Georgia to its European path.

These have been elections held within the midst of robust political polarization, which the opposition had offered as a plebiscite between Europe and Russia, given the anti-Western discourse of the Executive in recent times and its more and more authoritarian drift, which has led to the Union European Union to freeze Georgia’s accession course of just some months after granting it candidate nation standing final December. The ruling celebration, for its half, had outlined these elections as a referendum between peace and battle, accusing the opposition of wanting to tug the Caucasian nation into an armed confrontation with Russia.

The leaders of Georgian Dream, together with its founder, the oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, and the prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, have appeared after the closing of the polls on a stage ready subsequent to the celebration headquarters, the place they’ve proclaimed themselves winners with a joyful and laughter Fireworks have even been launched even supposing the primary official provisional outcomes aren’t anticipated earlier than the Electoral Commission transmits them at 10:00 p.m. native time (two hours much less in mainland Spain). Who has not waited for the official outcomes both has been the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, who on the social community X has congratulated SG for its “overwhelming victory.” The Hungarian chief has change into an instance to comply with for the Georgian celebration, which, in recent times, has made a flip from center-left to ultra-conservatism.

However, the leaders of the totally different opposition events have assured that victory is theirs. “European Georgia is winning with 52% of the votes despite attempts to rig the elections and when the votes of the diaspora have not yet been counted,” mentioned the nation’s president, Salomé Zurabishvili, who has established herself as coordinator of the divided opposition.

For the primary time, Georgia launched a totally proportional seat distribution system and an digital voting administration system. The firm chosen for this was Smartmatic, a multinational of Venezuelan origin that has managed electoral processes in varied international locations world wide – in some, such because the Philippines, with some controversy – and that left Venezuela in 2017 after denouncing that the Government of Nicolás Maduro had manipulated participation knowledge for the elections to the National Constituent Assembly.

Upon arrival on the polling station (in 90% of the polling stations that had this method), the id of the voters was verified at a desk by inserting their card right into a machine by which knowledge and {a photograph} appeared. Subsequently, they got a poll by which they needed to point out their electoral choice, which was deposited in an digital poll field, which issued a voting receipt and computed the vote, though the outcomes weren’t revealed till the tip of the day. Subsequently, the voter’s finger was sprayed with a liquid solely seen in ultraviolet mild to forestall him from voting greater than as soon as.

“The procedure is being very clean. The mechanics are complicated but very guaranteeing,” mentioned a global observer consulted by EL PAÍS after visiting a dozen polling stations within the west of the nation. However, he additionally famous the “strong presence” of members of Georgian Dream and its satellite tv for pc organizations.

This has been one of many greatest complaints of impartial observers and the opposition: the intimidating actions of militants of the ruling celebration, who in some rural areas have been found attempting to pay voters for his or her votes or intimidating them. “The legislation prohibits the presence of any person [fuera de quienes estén votando o estén acreditados como observadores o periodistas] less than 100 meters from the polling stations, and we have seen many unauthorized people trying to mobilize voters and collecting personal information from voters to intimidate them and control their election,” denounced Nino Dolidze, from the International Society for Elections. Free and Democracy (ISFED). This NGO detected irregularities of various severity in 9% of the polling stations noticed. The most critical occurred within the district of Marneuli (southern of the nation), the place an opposition observer recorded how one other, additionally accredited, positioned numerous votes within the poll field and a second pushed them inside. The observer who recorded the pictures was crushed however managed to broadcast the incident, which led the Ministry of the Interior to provoke an investigation and the Electoral Commission to shut this polling station.

In the identical district, the native chief of the United National Movement (MNU), the principle opposition celebration, was crushed. The group has reported assaults on its observers in a number of places, one among whom needed to be hospitalized, and the arrest of 4 of them.