A coalition of Georgian observer groups have demanded the annulment of the results of 2024 elections, as Georgian Dream secured a majority amidst widespread reports of electoral violations. Opposition groups accused the government of ‘stealing’ the elections, and promised to challenge the results. 

Read more:

• Georgian Dream win Georgia election as observer group calls for annulment of the vote
• Live updates | Local observers demand annulment of results after Georgian Dream win

Key events from yesterday:

• Official preliminary results show that Georgian Dream has convincingly won Georgia’s parliamentary elections, securing 54% of the vote.
• Opposition groups have yet to announce their plans moving forward. A number of opposition leaders said that there had been widespread election violations and fraud, and promised to challenge the results, with the UNM’s Tina Bokuchava vowing to ‘fight like never before’. 
• There were numerous reports of violations at polling stations across the country, including a significant number observed by OC Media journalists. 

We’re ending our live updates for the night. Join us again tomorrow for our coverage of the opposition demonstration and other post-election updates. 

At this crucial juncture in Georgia’s history, please consider becoming a member and supporting our work.

European Greens call for independent investigation into ‘election irregularities’

The European Greens have called for the ‘allegations of election irregularities in Georgia’ to be independently investigated. 

According to Thomas Waitz, the co-chair of the European Green Party, ‘this is not what free and fair elections look like’, adding that ‘independent election observers from Georgian civil society qualify the actions of the ruling party as a “big fraud scheme” that does not reflect the will of the people’. 

🇬🇪 #Georgia's elections are marred by allegations of fraud.

🌍 Int'l observers report vote-buying, voter intimidation & concerns over impartiality of election authorities.

⚠️ This is not what a free & fair election looks like. We urgently call for an independent investigation. pic.twitter.com/sOjVfVJOrL

— European Greens (@europeangreens) October 27, 2024

Aleko Elisashvili: Strong Georgia will not ‘take advantage of that stinky mandate’

According to IPN, one of the leaders of Strong Georgia, Aleko Elisashvili, told the media before the meeting with President Salome Zourabichvili that they ‘do not recognise this horrendousness they called elections’.

‘We came to the president to exchange ideas and agree on an action plan because we need to act now. No one is going to complain, we are going to take action’, he said.

‘No one in the coalition is going to take advantage of that stinky mandate, and we don’t need to enter the parliament, we have a country to return to’.

Zourabichvili: ‘We were witnesses and victims of a Russian special operation’

More on President Zourabichvili’s brief address this evening:

‘We witnessed something very unusual, it was completely rigged […] completely stealing all of your votes, using all the techniques that we have seen, in addition to using today’s technology to whitewash the fraud. There has never been such a thing. We were witnesses and victims of a Russian special operation, one of the new forms of hybrid war, which was carried out on our people — on our country’.

‘During these elections, we were deprived of the right to vote. The elections held were Russian, the institution of elections was taken away from us’.

‘I want to say here today, as the only remaining independent institution in this state, that I do not recognise these elections, they cannot be recognised, it would be the same as recognising Russia’s entry here — Georgia’s subordination to Russia. I did not come to Georgia for this. Our ancestors did not live for this. We will not accept this, it is not possible for anyone to take away Georgia’s European future’.

President Zourabichvili calls for protests 

President Zourabichvili has called for a protest tomorrow at 19:00 on the central Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi.

She called on society to ‘stand together’ and not to recognise election results.

‘It will be a symbolic [gathering]’, she said.

President Zourabichvili: ‘Elections were completely rigged’

President Salome Zourabichvili has stated that the ‘elections were completely rigged’.

‘I do not recognise these elections, these elections cannot be recognised, because it would be the same as recognising Russia’s entry here’, she said.

EU to assess relations with Georgia in November

The President of the EU Council, Charles Michel, has announced that he intends to ‘put Georgia on the agenda’ of the informal EU Council meeting in Budapest in November, during which they will ‘assess the situation’ and ‘set the next steps’ in the EU–Georgia relationship. 

Following the parliamentary elections in Georgia, I intend to put Georgia on the agenda of the informal #EUCO in Budapest.

We note the OSCE/ODIHR preliminary assessment and call on the Central Election Commission and other relevant authorities to fulfil their duty to swiftly,…

— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) October 27, 2024

Opposition leaders gather ahead of Zourabichvili briefing

Opposition leaders have joined President Zourabichvili at the Orbeliani Palace ahead of her statement. For Georgia leader Giorgi Gakharia appears to be notably absent.

Kobakhidze says ‘no use’ for opposition members in parliament

The Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, stated at the briefing earlier today that ‘none of the opposition parties and none of their representatives will be particularly valuable for the parliament’.

‘None of them are interesting for parliamentary work’, he said answering a reporter’s question.

‘It is up to them whether they will come or not. Either way, the parliament will be legitimate’.

Several hours after Kobakhidze’s statement, two opposition groups stated they would not enter parliament, calling the election results ‘illegitimate’.

Georgian emigrants hold demonstration in Berlin

The civil society organisation GZA has organised a demonstration in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg gate, calling the newly elected parliament ‘illegitimate’.

Unity — National Movement ‘not going to enter parliament’ too

The leader of opposition group Unity — National Movement, Tina Bokuchava, has stated that ‘when we said that we do not recognise the election result, this in itself means that we are not going to enter the parliament’.

Unity — National Movement was the first opposition group to accuse the government of ‘stealing the election’.

Bokuchava said yesterday that the Central Election Commission had ‘fulfilled Ivanishvili’s dirty order’ and that he ‘stole the European future’ from the Georgian people.

Mdinaradze calls on opposition members ‘not to enter’ parliament

According to IPN, the executive secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Mamuka Mdinaradze, ‘called on’ the members of the opposition ‘not to enter [the parliament]’ during a press briefing on Sunday. 

‘Let no one enter, the working environment will be maintained, and we will be protected from the sabotage they have been carrying out all these years’, he said.

Hungary’s Orbán will visit Georgia tomorrow

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze will host the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, from 28-29 October, the Georgian government announced on Sunday. A delegation of Hungarian ministers and officials will accompany Orbán. 

On Saturday, Orbán congratulated Kobakhidze and the ruling Georgian Dream party on their ‘absolute victory’ in a post on X before the votes were counted.

Boris Johnson: ‘Putin’s puppet government in Tbilisi’

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has called Georgia’s ruling dream party ‘Putin’s puppet government in Tbilisi’ in a post on X. 

The picture emerging from Georgia is clear - yesterday's election has been stolen by Putin's puppet government in Tbilisi.

I back the people of Georgia as they stand up for their freedom, their rights and their future.

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) October 27, 2024

Helsinki Commission calls on Washington to ‘carefully examine allegations of fraud’

The chair of the US Helsinki Commission, Joe Wilson, has called on the US Department of State to ‘carefully examine the allegations of fraud’ in the Georgian elections. 

‘I am troubled by the credible allegations of systematic violations in the Georgian parliamentary election. I am also disturbed by the well-documented efforts by Russia to sway the election’, he said in an official statement published on Sunday. 

He also highlighted legislation in the US House of Representatives which aims to ‘bolster democratic practices, human rights, and the rule of law’ in Georgia.

‘Our MEGOBARI Act will seek to punish those who are undermining democracy in Georgia and support the people of Georgia in their quest for freedom and strengthened sovereignty. Georgian people deserve a government that listens to and respects their voices’, he said.

Western MPs publish joint statement in support of Zourabichvili

Senior MPs in Europe and Canada have signed a joint statement calling the Georgian elections ‘neither free nor fair’. 

They stated that the policies of the ruling Georgian Dream party were ‘simply incompatible with the EU’, highlighting the the party’s ‘perfidious campaign of fear of a “global war party” ’, which say said was a name belonging to Russia. 

The MPs further warned about the ‘Belarusification’ of the country, and emphasised their continued support of the efforts of President Salome Zourabichvili to ‘unite the country’ and ‘defend democracy’. 

They also called for personal sanctions against ‘those responsible for unfair electoral influence, intimidation, and threats against the opposition and civil society’.

Coalition for Change rejects mandates

The opposition Coalition for Change has announced that they were refusing their parliamentary mandates, after receiving around 11% in the elections.

Nana Malashkhia, a member of the coalition, announced that her group did not recognise the results of the election, and read out the list of 20 candidates from the coalition who will refuse to take up their parliamentary mandates.

Nika Gvaramia, one of the leaders of the Coalition for Change, said that ‘all the remaining people who are on our list will make absolutely identical statements, their convictions will be absolutely identical.’

Solitary protest in front of parliament

A Georgian citizen has begun a solitary protest in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi following yesterday’s parliamentary elections.

A Georgian citizen has begun a solitary protest in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi following Georgian Dream's victory in the parliamentary elections yesterday.

▶️ Georgia election live updates: https://t.co/wBiwrlwjUH pic.twitter.com/KH7mKHWt6P

— OC Media (@OCMediaorg) October 27, 2024

IRI: Georgian Dream used state resources and local officials during elections

The International Republican Institute’s (IRI) preliminary report on the Georgian elections found that Georgian Dream ‘utilised state resources to boost its campaign and suppress voter turnout including using local government officials to do their political bidding’.

In the pre-election period, they found that the ruling party used ‘fear tactics’ in a ‘systematic attempt’ to not only influence voters to support Georgian Dream, but also ‘to deter and intimidate voters from supporting opposing parties’.

During yesterday’s elections, they noted ‘systemic’ intimidation and harassment of voters, both inside and outside polling stations; ‘pervasive intimidation and pressure’ on public sector employees and social-service recipients; and an insufficient and ineffective means of investigation and adjudication of election-related complaints; among other things. 

‘Elections are about people choosing the course of their destiny and the elected officials they select to lead them. Bending and abusing the system, as the governing party in Georgia has done, to guarantee an outcome takes away the people’s right to exercise genuine choice and hold their leaders accountable’, IRI’s president Daniel Twining said. 

NDI: ‘pre-election period failed to meet fundamental standards for democratic elections’

The National Democratic Institute’s (NDI) preliminary report on its observation mission for the Georgian election stated that the electoral environment leading up to voting day ‘failed to meet fundamental standards for democratic elections’. 

NDI added that both its officers and citizen observers witnessed widespread electoral fraud on election day, including voter intimidation, violence against observers, violations of the neutrality zone around polling places, and ballot stuffing, among other forms of tampering. 

‘We have seen claims and counterclaims regarding the election’s outcome, including legitimate concerns about the fairness of the overall election process’, former US Ambassador Tom Malinowski said. 

He added that the primary domestic observer group, the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), was ‘still finalising the detailed report of its parallel vote tabulation, which we urge everyone to respect. We have great confidence in this methodology, which has been used in more than fifty countries, and in the integrity and care with which ISFED is carrying it out’.

‘The Georgian people have clearly expressed the value they place on their democratic path. Georgian political actors must move beyond their winner-take-all mentality and commit to pluralism to advance this path. Georgia’s governing party carries a special responsibility in this respect’, NDI’s president Tamara Cofman Wittes said. ‘The government must maintain political neutrality, allow peaceful protests, and protect the ability of all Georgians to participate in political life’.

Saakashvili calls elections ‘completely rigged’

Detained former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has called the elections ‘completely rigged and stolen’ in a post on X. 

Elections in Georgia are completely rigged and stolen.

Elections in Georgia are completely rigged and stolen.

We have to claim back our country from this traitorous government.

— Mikheil Saakashvili (@SaakashviliM) October 27, 2024

Ukrainian MP: elections were ‘not stolen, but bought’

During a press conference with international observers in Georgia, Oleksiy Goncharenko, a Ukrainian MP and president of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees, and Displaced Persons, responded to a Politico question about whether the elections were stolen by stating that ‘they were not stolen, but bought’. 

Previously he posted on X, sharing photos of the commission protocols, asking viewers to make their own conclusions ‘about how fair this election is’.

Here are the commission protocols. I’ll explain everything now. The first photo is an example. The total number of votes is highlighted in red. The vote for the “Georgian Dream” is highlighted in pink. In some polling stations, more than 90% favored them!

Make your own… pic.twitter.com/aFvqItCwjr

— Oleksiy Goncharenko (@GoncharenkoUa) October 27, 2024

ODIHR monitoring mission head says media coverage was unbalanced

Eoghan Murphy, the head of the OSCE/ODIHR mission, described Georgian media coverage  of the elections as ‘biassed’ during today’s press conference. Murphy cited the media monitoring study they had conducted, which he said included six local TV stations and two online media outlets. 

He noted that private TV stations failed to provide impartial news coverage and analysis as required by Georgian legislation, while the publicly funded Georgian Public Broadcaster ‘devoted significantly more time to the ruling party in the news’.

‘Together with a lack of impartial analysis of party programmes by the media and the refusal of leading political actors and parties to debate in the media meant that voters’s ability to make an informed choice was challenged’, Murphy noted.

President Zourabichvili to make statement later in the evening

President Salome Zourabichvili will make a statement at 21:00 Tbilisi time today — her first since the results of the elections were first made public yesterday.

EU Parliament mission expresses ‘deep concern about democratic backsliding in Georgia’

MEP Antonio López-Istúriz White, who led the European Parliament delegation as part of the OSCE/ODIHR mission said that ‘yesterday’s election is unfortunately evidence’ to democratic backsliding in Georgia. 

He highlighted various forms of violations, adding that they ‘were surprised to see cameras in all precincts, which was not foreseen by the current legislation’. 

López-Istúriz also expressed his surprise over Georgian Dream allegedly claiming on election night that the OSCE/ODIHR mission was ‘commenting positively’ on the election process. 

‘How is it possible when we are holding our press conference only now?’, López-Istúriz asked. 

In his remarks, López-Istúriz claimed that ‘although outwardly the campaign was quite subdued, there were signs that efforts were underway to undermine and manipulate the vote’. 

López-Istúriz reiterated the concerns voiced by other mission leaders over reports of abuses of administrative resources and Georgian Dream confiscating IDs of some voters before election day. 

He also added that ‘there were examples of institutions such as the newly established Anti-Corruption Bureau being instrumentalised for political purposes during the campaign’, evidently referring to the Bureau’s recent efforts to legally treat one of the key local election watchdog groups, Transparency International — Georgia, as an electoral subject to subject them to respective financial scrutiny. 

‘All the above measures taken together paint a clear picture [for]  us — sophisticated, wide-spread, and wide-orchestrated scheme’, he noted, referring to the pre-election period. 

British MP calls results into question

Alicia Kearns, a Conservative MP from the UK and shadow foreign minister, was the first UK politician to comment on the Georgian elections, raising questions about their legitimacy.

The multiple reports from Georgia which suggest election rigging and breaches of Georgian electoral law confirm the fears many have expressed over the last few months.

The people of Georgia deserve free and fair elections.

— Alicia Kearns MP (@aliciakearns) October 26, 2024

OSCE PACE delegation: ‘big brother is watching’ vibe in the elections

Summing up their main conclusions in today’s press conference as part of the OSCE/ODIHR Election Observation Mission, Iulian Bulai, the head of the PACE delegation, noted ‘cases of vote-buying and double voting before and during elections, especially in rural areas’. 

‘We experienced two different worlds: one in polling stations, where the voting process was in general well-administered, and outside the polling stations. The presence of cameras of the ruling party in the polling stations and people in front of polling stations tracking and possibly controlling voters led to a widespread climate of pressure and party-organised intimidation, and a feeling of “big brother is watching you”, as one of our observers depicted it’, he noted. 

Bulai continued by saying that the ‘uneven playing field and the deficiencies we just noted in the election process undermine trust in its outcome and its fairness. Underline: its outcome and its fairness. This explains the reaction to the election results’.

‘I should also mention that while observing inside a polling station in the countryside, one of the PACE teams had its car vandalised’, Bulai added.

‘Intimidation and pressure on voters outside the polling stations’ and breaches of vote secrecy were also highlighted by Faik Öztrak, the head of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, who also noted the ‘highly divisive rhetoric’ and Georgian Dream’s promises to ban ‘key opposition parties’.

Both Bulai and Pia Kauma, the head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation, as well as other delegation leaders, criticised the recently adopted foreign agent law as part of the pre-election environment.

Khazaradze does ‘not recognise’ election results

Mamuka Khazaradze, the leader of the opposition group Strong Georgia, has stated that ‘Bidzina Ivanishvili and Georgian Dream, together with the Russian special services, appropriated and took away yesterday’s elections from the Georgian people’.

‘We do not recognise the results of yesterday’s elections and will continue to protect the right to vote of each of our voters’, he added.

Unity — National Movement demands access to everything

The opposition coalition Unity — National Movement has demanded access to both the verification machines and the lists loaded there, as well as the receipts confirming the verification, from the Central Election Commission (CEC) in order to check the election documentation.

According to Tamar Kordzaia, one of the leaders of the coalition, the opposition alliance believes that the results of the elections announced by the CEC are ‘results achieved through various manipulations’, which their political party does not recognize. According to her, ‘this is the only way we can prove this manipulation’.

Foreign Ministers of Latvia and Lithuania comment on Georgian elections

Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gabrielius Landsbergis, posted on X saying that he will be  ‘paying close attention to the developing situation in Georgia’.

Elections must be based on freedom and fairness. I take allegations of irregularities in any election very seriously and will be paying close attention to the developing situation in Georgia.

— Gabrielius Landsbergis🇱🇹 (@GLandsbergis) October 27, 2024

The Foreign Minister of Latvia, Baiba Braže, said that the country ‘notes with concern reports on various irregularities during the elections’ and that they are waiting for the OSCE/ODIHR assessment from international observers.

All of Latvia carefully follows parliamentary elections in Georgia🇬🇪 and is waiting for the OSCE/ODIHR assessment from international observers.

We note with concern reports on various irregularities during the elections. https://t.co/kMC7IMBGp8

— Baiba Braže (@Braze_Baiba) October 27, 2024

Zourabichvili meets with opposition

President Salome Zourabichvili has met with the leaders of some opposition parties, IPN reported. After the meeting was over, Tina Bokuchava, the chair of the oppositional United National Movement (UNM) told reporters that they are having ‘intense consultations, which will continue in the next few hours’.

The leader of Strategy Agmashenebeli, Giorgi Vashadze, claimed that ‘today we will definitely have a concrete path for society, what steps we will take’.

According to local media, after meeting with the opposition parties, Zourabichvili has begun holding discussions with the non-governmental sector.

Georgian Dream to take 89 out of 150 seats

According to preliminary data published by the Central Election Commission (CEC), Georgian Dream will have 89 MPs in parliament, with four opposition groups sharing the remaining 61 seats: Coalition for Change with 18, Unity — National Movement with 17, Strong Georgia with 14, and For Georgia with 12.

ISFED: trust in the vote ‘significantly undermined’ by violations 

Nino Dolidze, chair of key local election watchdog the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) reported today that they had identified ‘grave violations’ during the vote held on Saturday, such as ‘ballot stuffing, repeated voting, unprecedented scale of vote buying, expulsion of observers from [polling] stations, as well as instances of mobilising voters outside [polling] stations, collecting their personal information, and [...] controlling their will’. 

As Dolidze claimed, ‘the violations revealed during the pre-election period — specifically, pressure on voters, intimidation, confiscation of identification documents, collection of personal data, and voter bribery — have significantly undermined trust in the elections’. 

ISFED reported that 9% of the polling stations they monitored failed to ensure the secrecy of the vote, while the same percentage had issues with properly applying inking procedures. Additionally, 13% of the stations’ outside perimeters showed potential instances of vote bribery.

OC Media has observed money being distributed near polling station #15 in Zugdidi. One individual confirmed being a Georgian Dream coordinator but denied tracking voters or handing out cash.

▶️ Georgia election live updates: https://t.co/qUR7NFbDpK pic.twitter.com/namuzVotCn

— OC Media (@OCMediaorg) October 26, 2024

Gakharia: ‘Ivanishvili violated the will of Georgian citizens’

For Georgia chair Giorgi Gakharia has stated that the preliminary elections results do ‘not reflect the will of the Georgian people’, adding that the votes cast need to be ‘defended’. 

‘We can confidently claim — and these are not just perceptions; these are confirmed as facts — that Ivanishvili violated the will of the citizens of Georgia’, Gakharia stated, adding that the election, as a democratic institution available to change the government through peaceful means, was at risk. 

Gakharia argued that voter intimidation, vote-buying, ‘manipulation’ of voter IDs, and pressure on public employees, including those on social benefits, were systemic violations aimed at ‘stealing the election results and the will of the Georgian people’.

The chair of For Georgia also reminded the public that ‘Ivanishvili personally threatened’ him and young politicians in his party with persecution before the vote. 

Estonian FM says election irregularities ‘give rise to grave concern’

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhna expressed concern on Sunday about possible election tampering, becoming the first EU foreign minister to publicly cast doubt that the election was free and fair. 

Reports of irregularities in #Georgian 🇬🇪elections give rise to grave concern.

Closely following the evaluations of international & local observers.

— Margus Tsahkna (@Tsahkna) October 27, 2024

CIS head: election results show Georgians understand importance of cooperating with Russia

Sergei Lebedev, the secretary general of the Russia-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), said on Sunday that the outcome of Georgia’s parliamentary elections demonstrates that Georgians understand that cooperating with Russia is in the best interests of the Georgian people. 

Lebedev, a Russian politician who heads the organisation, stated that those who claim otherwise are intentionally distorting reality or do not understand the truth.

Georgia was previously a member of the CIS but withdrew following the 2008 August War. 

Lebedev added that statements from Georgian Dream illustrate the party is ‘determined to restore positive neighbourly relations with Russia and other CIS countries’.

Significant gains for opposition among voters abroad

The opposition made gains in preliminary counts of votes abroad, significantly improving its standing from the previous election. According to Central Election Commission (CEC) figures, the Coalition for Change led foreign votes, with 32%, followed by Unity — National Movement in second place at 20%. The combined total of opposition votes abroad according to the preliminary count reached 76%, compared to Georgian Dream’s 15%. 

The figure represented a drop of 15 percentage points in Georgian Dream’s vote share among ballots cast abroad from 2020, when the ruling party gained 29% of the total share. 

The only foreign polling location where Georgian Dream secured a majority on Saturday was in Baku, where the ruling party obtained 90% of the vote.

Pashinyan congratulates Georgian Dream on election victory

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan extended his congratulations to Georgian Dream following the parliamentary elections. While results from the Central Election Commission have indicated a victory for the ruling party, opposition groups have disputed the election and refused to concede. 

‘I believe that Armenia-Georgia strategic relations will continue to develop sustainably’, Pashinyan wrote on X in Georgian. His message came shortly after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also congratulated Georgian Dream on its electoral victory.

GYLA highlights violations during ‘violent and tense’ elections

Following the vote, the local rights group Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA) reported that the elections on the previous day ‘took place in an environment marked by significant violations, largely characterised by inequality, violence, and tension’. 

These, they reported, included ‘various forms’ of non-compliance with inking procedures designed to prevent multiple voting, along with repeated incidents of interference that hindered observers from monitoring the voting process.

GYLA underlined that violations of inking procedures raised concerns about preventing ‘duplicate voter lists from being activated at multiple precincts’, something they insisted the Central Election Commission (CEC) had to address. 

Giorgi Kalandarishvili, the chair of the CEC, promptly dismissed the claims as a ‘manipulatively raised issue’ and pointed to ‘the first and second phases’ of an audit by the American company Pro V&V, which, they stated, ruled out double voting.

GYLA also noted the presence of video cameras installed by the ruling party at most of the precincts they observed, as well as the poor quality of ballots, which made voters’ marked choices visible on the reverse side as they submitted them to the voting machines. 

On 27 October morning, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze rejected the claims of fraud by saying that ‘everyone can see the registration data, confirming that each voter is unique and that none have voted more than once’,

‘It is technically impossible to do so with this equipment’, he continued. 

‘This is a fabricated story, created so that disillusioned politicians can justify themselves to their voters for the lies they have been telling them’.

Aliyev congratulates Georgian Dream on electoral victory

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said he ‘heartily congratulates’ Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Georgian Dream’s claimed victory in the parliamentary elections. With the total number of precincts yet to be counted, opposition groups have disputed the results and refused to concede. Civil society groups who observed the election have also accused the government of undertaking ‘a complex scheme of election fraud’ and demanded the annulment of the results.

‘Georgian citizens expressed their support for development, stability and traditional values through this vote. I believe that the results of the elections will serve the overall development and prosperity of Georgia’, Aliyev said in a statement shared by the Azerbaijani state media outlet Azertac on Sunday.

Hungarian and Russian officials praise Georgian Dream victory

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó on Sunday congratulated Georgian Dream on its victory in the parliamentary elections, following the lead of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian Foreign Affairs Council head Grigory Karasin, who both claimed Georgian Dream had won before the votes were fully tallied. 

In a post on Facebook, Szijjártó said ‘despite attempts to intervene, the people of Georgia have made it clear what they want. [Georgian Dream], which supports patriots, families, won the election with an overwhelming margin.’

Szijjártó did not provide evidence to support his claims about an attempted intervention, nor did he clarify who he was referring to. 

Grigory Karasin, the head of Russia’s Foreign Affairs Council, stated that the elections had been conducted in a ‘calm atmosphere’, but noted that ‘an active period in the country’s domestic politics’ lay ahead.

Observer missions to present findings at 14:00 and 15:00

International observer missions will share preliminary findings from their missions this afternoon, with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI) to hold a briefing at 14:00, and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) at 15:00. 

The elections have been marred by widespread allegations of manipulation and fraud, with Transparency International — Georgia’s Eka Gigauri reportedly stating in the early hours of Sunday that in 24 years of monitoring, the organisation had never seen an election ‘with this level of violations.

‘There were too many issues, and the results are definitely not legitimate’, Gigauri stated.

Estonian MP condemns election results

The Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament, Marko Mihkelson, has stated it is ‘impossible to recognise’ the legitimacy of the Georgian elections. 

Georgia’s 🇬🇪 apparent election result falsification makes it impossible to recognize their legitimacy. By rigging elections, one cannot join the European Union 🇪🇺, but can end up back in Russia’s 🇷🇺 embrace.

— Marko Mihkelson (@markomihkelson) October 26, 2024

Opposition wins in the UK

According to the summary protocol published by RFE/RL, out of 1,335 Georgian citizens who cast ballots, 1,146, or 86%, voted for the opposition. Georgian Dream received 154 votes, or 12% of the vote.  Due to long queues and a lack of registrars, Georgians queued for hours, and the station closed at 22:30 rather than at 20:00.

Local observers demand annulment of the result

In the early hours of Sunday, a coalition of civil society groups set up to observe the 2024 election accused the government of undertaking ‘a complex scheme of election fraud’ and demanded the annulment of the results.

WeVote includes several leading NGOs including Transparency International — Georgia, Georgia’s Reforms Associates (GRASS), the Civil Society Foundation, IDFI, and more. The group sent 2,000 observers to polling stations across the country. 

‘As a result of the analysis of the environment in the pre-election period and the fraud schemes used on the election day, as well as the unprecedented impact on the will of the voters and incidents of violence, we believe that the preliminary results published by the Central Election Commission does not reflect the will of the citizens of Georgia’, the group stated. ‘We will continue to demand the annulment of the election results.’

They added that the election had taken place ‘in the context of serious and substantial violations.’

‘At the end of the day, it became clear that the various problems identified during the monitoring of the election process during the day were part of a larger scheme, the purpose of which was to subvert the final result of the election. It became clear that a complex scheme of election fraud had been developed, for the implementation of which such methods were used as disruption of the verification system, violation of marking procedures and obstruction of observers from observing voter identification procedures. In the first half of the day, two or more ballots were given to voters en masse. Also, there were cases when ballots were already selected in favour of the ruling party.’

‘The ruling party carried out an unprecedented mobilisation of voters by means of vehicles. Unprecedented pressure was exerted on voters. Taking into account that during the pre-election period, voters’ personal information was collected, including their social and family status, a large number of voters were literally hostages of the ruling party’, the group stated.

The group reported that as of 22:30, they had observed the following violations:

• 347 incidents in which the marking of voters with ink was not observed or checked.
• 89 reports of violations of voter secrecy.
• 341 reports of unauthorised people being present.
• 96 instances of physical confrontations/threats/violence.
• 163 cases in which their observers were obstructed.

They found ‘substantial violations’ which could have a ‘significant impact on the free expression of the voter’s will’ in districts where Georgian Dream gained an overwhelmingly strong lead.

They recorded the following violations in the following districts:

• Violation of voting secrecy in Kareli, Batumi, Telavi, Khashuri, Bolnisi, Senaki, Gori, Zugdidi, Chkhorotsku, Marneuli, Kobuleti, Sagarejo, Akhaltsikhe, Kaspi, and Mtskheta.
• Voting instead of someone else and repeatedly  in Marneuli, Gardabani, Zugdidi, Kharagauli, Chkhorotsku, Samgori.
• Impossibility of observing the correctness of the verification process and the registrar’s activities in Gurjaani, Sighnaghi, Rustavi, Gardabani, Samtredia, Chugureti, Sighnaghi, Dedoplistskaro, Isani, Senaki.
• Handing out more than one ballot per voter and/or placing it in a box in Gurjaani, Dedoplistskaro, Telavi, Rustavi, Batumi, Senaki, Lagodekhi, Tbilisi, Batumi, Khelvachauri, Kobuleti, Mestia, Akhaltsikhe, Aspindza, Gori, Kareli, and Khashuri.
• Physical violence in Marneuli, Gldani, Isni, Marneuli and Zugdidi.
• Pressuring voters in Kharagauli, Chiatura, Akhalkalaki, Khashuri, Mtskheta, Kaspi, Kareli, Khashuri, and Gori.
• Damage to mobile ballot boxes and ballots in Vake, Saburtalo, Samgori, Ozurgeti, Rustavi, Khashuri electoral districts.
• Not implementing ballot marking procedures in Gldani, Isani, Samgori, Marneuli, Kaspi, Gori, Zugdidi, Marneuli, Batumi, and Mtskheta.
• Agitation by the members of the commission - in Gori, Marneuli, Bolnisi, and Kutaisi.
• Disrupting the activities of observers and expelling them in Marneuli, Senaki, Gardabani, Kobuleti, and Sagarejo.
• Ballot-stuffing in Marneuli.

Georgian Dream secures 54% of vote

With 99% of the votes counted, official Central Election Commission (CEC) results gave the ruling Georgian Dream party a majority of 54%. While this falls short of the constitutional majority that the party had vowed to secure, it gives the ruling party a comfortable lead over the opposition, which received around 40% of the total vote. 

Other parties received:

• Coalition for Change: 11%
• Unity - National Movement: 10%
• Strong Georgia: 8.7%
• For Georgia: 7.7%
• Girchi: 3%
• Alliance of Patriots: 2.5%

Turnout when polls closed at 20:00 was 59%.