When over 99 percent of the votes had been counted, the country's election authority stated that the ruling party had won, and that the opposition had landed on 38 percent.
Georgia's EU-friendly President Salomé Zurabishvili does not recognize the election result, which she describes as a "total forgery, total theft of your votes", and says that her country has fallen victim to a Russian "special operation".
She urges the inhabitants to gather on the main street in the capital Tbilisi at 7 pm on Monday evening to protest against the alleged electoral fraud. The opposition also rejects the election result.
However, the country's Prime Minister Garibashvili, who represents the ruling party Georgian Dream, describes the election result as a decisive victory for Georgia.
Irregularities occur everywhere, he says to BBC.
Bundles of ballots
According to international observers on site, several irregularities occurred during the election on Saturday. During the election evening, images were spread of bundles of ballots being pushed into the ballot boxes.
In a joint statement from, among others, OSCE and NATO, which questions the result's validity, the election was characterized by "unfair conditions, pressure and tensions".
On election day, opposition parties alerted that observers and voters were threatened and attacked. Something that the European Parliament's election observers themselves witnessed – such as physical assaults on observers and ballot boxes being seized, they say in a statement on Sunday.
"Democratic backslide"
”We express deep concern over the democratic backslide in Georgia. The implementation of yesterday's election is unfortunately proof of this".
The EU Council President Charles Michel urges the election authority in Georgia to quickly investigate the allegations of irregularities.
The election authority has been criticized for being too close to the government and for rushing through an electoral reform before the election, writes BBC.
The election has been described as a fateful election, where the result is deemed to decide whether the country is governed closer to the EU or Russia.
In the disputed election in Georgia, both the ruling party and the opposition have declared themselves winners. There are reports of stolen votes, violence and threats. Even the 2020 parliamentary election was strongly criticized, with large demonstrations and demands for the election to be redone.
At the same time, Georgia is considered a democracy, with a population that, among other things, has the right to form and join parties.
However, development has stalled in recent years: due to, among other things, deficiencies in the judiciary and less press freedom, according to human rights organizations.
The Economist's Global Democracy Index (EIU), which ranks countries in the world's democracy based on five variables, classifies Georgia as a "hybrid regime". The think tank Freedom House calls Georgia "partly free".
Sources: Landguiden/UI, EIU, Freedom House
