Georgia's parliament will approve government despite opposition's protests, PM says after elections

The Georgian parliament will approve the government despite protests by the opposition, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on Oct. 27 as his party declared victory in the elections.

The country's electoral commission said that the ruling Moscow-friendly Georgian Dream party won 54% of the vote, dashing hopes of the pro-EU opposition.

Georgian opposition refused to recognize the result and said the election was stolen, pointing to election monitors reporting various violations across the country, including ballot stuffing and voter intimidation.

According to official results, the opposition parties and coalitions that crossed the 5% threshold included the Coalition for Change (10.9%), United National Movement (UNM, 10.1%), Strong Georgia (8.8%), and Gakharia For Georgia (7.8%).

Former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, the chair of the opposition Gakharia For Georgia party, said that the announced results "do not reflect the will of the Georgian people" and called for "reasonable forms of protest" to "defend the European future" of the country.

"We (will) fight for every vote, use all legal means to protect the democratic and European choice of the Georgian people," Anna Dolidze, one of the leaders of the Strong Georgia coalition, said.

A group of local election observers demanded the annulment of the results over purported cases of electoral fraud, including violations of voter secrecy, use of threats, obstruction of observers, and other transgressions.  

Speaking at a press briefing after the elections, Kobakhidze dismissed the opposition's protests as a "desperate attempt to justify themselves in front of their voters."

"Once again, some NGOs and radical political parties have come out against the constitutional order of the country for the third time in four years," the prime minister said.

Georgian Dream has already received congratulations from several world leaders, including neighboring Azerbaijan and Armenia, while Russian and Hungarian officials have praised the results.

The highly anticipated elections are pivotal for Georgia. The ruling party has seen the South Caucasus country drift ever closer to Moscow, hampering its EU aspirations.

Tbilisi has been accused of democratic backsliding over the adoption of controversial legislation, namely the foreign agents law targeting NGOs and independent media. The ruling party said it would also seek a constitutional ban on UNM, one of the country's leading opposition parties founded by former President Mikheil Saakashvili.

The introduction and passing of the foreign agents bill has sparked widespread protests across the country, both in March 2023 and in May this year. A large rally in support of Georgia's accession to the European Union was also held in Tbilisi's Freedom Square on Oct. 20, one week before the elections.