Georgia election: Ruling party claims victory, opposition protests

The preliminary results of Georgia’s parliamentary election were contested by an alliance of opposition groups on Sunday.

With about half the vote counted, the ruling Georgian Dream party had 50.58% of the vote, followed by the largest opposition party United National Movement (UNM) with 24.92%.

Many other opposition parties cleared the 1% threshold for representation in the parliament, according to the central election commission.

The ruling party — founded by Georgia’s richest man, Bidzina Ivanishvili — declared victory soon after polls closed. However, opposition parties have rejected the results and called for protests.

Read more: Georgian opposition unites in bid to oust billionaire-backed party

“We won’t accept this result and call on people to come to Rustaveli avenue (in the capital Tbilisi) at 4 p.m.” (0200 GMT) on Sunday, Nika Melia, one of the UNM leaders, told reporters after meeting with other opposition figures.

Opposition parties said they had enough votes to form a coalition.

International election observers said they would hold a press conference before the planned protest.

Police were deployed to the area around the election commission’s building.

Georgian Dream has enjoyed a strong majority in parliament for the past eight years, but its popularity has sunk due to economic problems in the South Caucasian nation. The coronavirus pandemic has further hit the economy, which is expected to shrink 5% this year.

Ivanishvili congratulated his supporters: “It needs to be emphasized that the Georgian Dream wins the elections for the third time,” he said. “What our country wanted, a solid team, we have got it.”

Former President Mikhail Saakashvili, who founded the UNM and has spent years in self-imposed in exile in Ukraine, described the results as a “triumph” for his bloc, and vowed to form a coalition government with other opposition parties.

“This is practically a great triumph of the Georgian opposition, despite the harassment, intimidation and pressure,” he said in televised remarks from Ukraine. “In these conditions, our main task is to form a government of national unity.”

aw/nm (AFP, AP, Reuters)

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/georgia-election-ruling-party-claims-victory-opposition-protests/a-55461978?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf