Two U.S. pollsters, commissioned by Georgian opposition forces, are questioning the official results of the Oct. 26 parliamentary election, which declared the ruling Georgian Dream party victorious.
In Georgia’s 2012 election, then-President Mikheil Saakashvili’s pro-Western party was defeated by Georgian Dream, a party led by the Russian-backed oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili. Though widely hailed at the time as a democratic triumph, astute observers warned against celebrating. One such observer was Georgia’s former economy minister, the
The office summoned President Salome Zourabichvili for Oct. 31 as part of the investigation. The president refused to acknowledge the result, calling it a "Russian special operation" and urged voters to protest.
Georgia's Oct. 26 parliamentary election presented a clear geopolitical choice for the country’s voters, but criticism is mounting that the ruling regime stole the vote. After years of vacillating between the West and Russia and paying lip service to European integration, the country's ruling Georgian Dream party began to
One year after a coalition led by Donald Tusk defeated Poland’s right-wing ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), the mood in the country is subdued. While a victory by pro-democracy parties in a free, but decidedly unfair, election was necessary, it was not sufficient to eliminate the illiberal populist
Moldovan presidential candidate Alexandr Stoianoglo claimed he would continue supporting Ukraine, a statement dismissed by incumbent President Maia Sandu during a presidential debate on Oct. 27.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken encouraged "Georgia’s political leaders to respect the rule of law, repeal legislation that undermines fundamental freedoms, and address deficiencies in the electoral process together."
"These elections cannot be recognized. This is the same as recognizing Georgia's subordination to Russia. ... No one can take away Georgia's European future."
"During our observation, we noted the cases of vote buying and double voting before and during elections, especially in rural areas," said Ioan Bulai, the head of the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
"(President Volodymyr) Zelensky is very clear; he wants all soldiers and refugees abroad to be able to vote," Andriy Yermak told Corriere della Sera. "But for now, resources must go to the war."
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 and the institution of elections."
Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party captured 54.3% of the vote in the Oct. 26 parliamentary election, with over 99% of precincts counted, according to the country's central electoral commission.
The ruling Georgian Dream party, led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, and opposition groups aiming to end the party’s 12-year rule declared victory on Oct. 26.
Footage surfaced earlier on Oct. 26 of an individual stuffing the ballot box at the polling station in the southern Georgian city of Marnueli.
Nino Lomjaria, a lawyer and former ombudswoman, reported on Oct. 26 that an election observer was attacked while filming a ballot box being stuffed.
Although Russian interference has taken many forms in Moldova since its independence in 1991, the election and referendum results on Sunday shocked many pro-European Moldovans. Despite opinion polls showing clear support for entrenching the desire for EU accession into the country's constitution, the success of the EU referendum came down
Moscow funneled a total of $39 million in a scheme led by a pro-Russian oligarch aimed at influencing election results by paying ordinary citizens to vote against closer ties with the West, the country's national police chief said on Oct. 24.
Belarus has scheduled its next presidential election for January 26, 2025, the country’s Central Electoral Commission announced on Oct. 23. Incumbent Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko is widely expected to hold on to power following the election's result.
Czech journalist Ray Baseley was denied entry to Georgia without an explanation after arriving at Tbilisi airport on Oct. 22 to cover the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Russian disinformation groups have been linked to viral attacks targeting Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, a U.S. intelligence official said on Oct. 22.
Moldovans headed to the polls on Oct. 20 to elect their next head of state and vote on the future of the country’s European Union integration. With over 99% of the votes counted on Monday, the “yes” vote edged ahead at 50.43%, while the “no” camp, which had
"The people of Moldova have spoken: our EU future will now be anchored in the constitution," Sandu said on X. "We fought fairly in an unfair fight—and we won. But the fight isn’t over. We will keep pushing for peace, prosperity, and the freedom to build our own future."
A large rally in support of Georgia's accession to the European Union was held in Tbilisi's Freedom Square on Oct. 20, ahead of the upcoming parliamentary election scheduled for Oct. 26.
The United States is providing a reward of up to $10 million for information that helps prevent or disrupts foreign election interference linked to the Russian state-sponsored Rybar media organization, the U.S. State Department announced. Rybar and its employees are accused of using social media to meddle in the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
Two years ago, a Georgian pro-Kremlin fringe channel aired a fabricated story featuring photoshopped images of several NGO representatives, including myself, in handcuffs at a fictional trial. This scenario, supposedly the result of a meeting between then-Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Russian President Vladimir Putin, was laughable at the
Georgia and Ukraine have long been close. Witnessing revolutions that brought democratic pro-Western governments, both countries later witnessed a Russian military attack, in the Kremlin's attempt to pull both states back into Moscow's orbit. It now looks like in Georgia, 16 years after a brief war that left 20% of
Moldova's state-owned broadcaster reported on Sept. 28 that vandals had splashed paint across the entrance of its building in the capital, Chisinau. This incident occurred a day after police attributed similar acts to a group trained in Moscow with the aim of destabilizing the upcoming elections. "We are not afraid
"My position is that the election period and election messages are election messages. Sometimes they are not very real," Zelensky said during a clip of the CNN interview, which is set to be fully published on Sept. 15.
The Democrat-leaning America’s Future Majority Fund super PAC (political action committee) unveiled new ads highlighting VP Kamala Harris' record on Ukraine while criticizing former President Donald Trump's comments on the NATO alliance.
U.S. President Joe Biden has done "a great job" of assembling and maintaining a coalition of partners but has been "slow to make some decisions," said William B. Taylor.
The continued rise of Alternative for Germany (AfD) entered a new chapter on Sept. 1, when the controversial far-right party came first in Thuringia's state election. AfD won around 33% of the vote in Thuringia, a state of 2 million people in Germany's east. The results mark the first time
Brian Nelson, the U.S. Treasury Department's lead official tasked with imposing and enforcing sanctions against Russia, is preparing to leave the Biden administration to join Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign, Axios reported on July 30.
