Georgia confirms ruling party won disputed election after recount

Officials in Georgia said Thursday that a partial recount confirmed the ruling party had won its disputed election with Washington and Brussels demanding an investigation.

The pro-Western opposition said Saturday's parliamentary vote was "stolen" by the ruling Georgian Dream party and refused to recognize the results, plunging the Caucasus country into uncertainty.

Supporters of Georgia's opposition parties hold a rally to protest and dispute the result of a recent parliamentary election won by the ruling Georgian Dream party, in Tbilisi, Georgia October 28, 2024.Reuters

Pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili -- at loggerheads with the governing party -- has declared the election results "illegitimate", alleging there was a "Russian special operation" to undermine the vote.The Kremlin has denied interference.

The central election commission told AFP that a recount at some 12 percent of polling stations, involving 14 percent of the vote, "didn't lead to a significant change to previously announced official results".

"Final tallies only slightly changed at some nine percent of recounted polling stations," a spokeswoman said.

Tens of thousands took to the streets on Monday to protest against alleged fraud.

Supporters of Georgia's opposition parties hold a rally to protest and dispute the result of a recent parliamentary election won by the ruling Georgian Dream party, in Tbilisi, Georgia October 28, 2024.Reuters

International observers, the European Union and the United States have criticized electoral irregularities and demanded a full investigation.

Georgia's interior ministry said two people were arrested after alleged ballot stuffing at a provincial polling station, while prosecutors said they had opened 47 criminal cases over alleged electoral violations.

On Wednesday, Georgian prosecutors said they had summoned Zurabishvili for questioning, because she "is believed to possess evidence regarding possible falsification".

But the figurehead president refused to comply, saying that plenty of evidence of electoral fraud was already available and prosecutors should focus on their investigation and "stop political score-settling with the president".

Opposition to boycott parliament

Opposition parties have said they will not enter the new "illegitimate" parliament and demanded fresh elections.

The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy, a Georgian NGO, said in a report released Thursday that the results "regardless of the outcome, cannot be seen as truly reflecting the preferences of Georgian voters".

The group said it has documented "serious (electoral) violations", including "intimidation, ballot stuffing, multiple voting, unprecedented levels of voter bribery (and) expulsion of observers from polling stations."

A group of Georgia's leading election monitors said earlier that they had uncovered evidence of a complex scheme of large-scale electoral fraud that swayed results in favor of the ruling party.

Brussels had warned prior to the elections that it would be a crucial test for EU-candidate Tbilisi's fledgling democracy and determine its chances of joining the bloc.

EU joining efforts derailed

The European Commission said in a report published Wednesday that it could not recommend opening membership talks "unless Georgia reverts the current course of action which jeopardizes its EU path."

Critics of the increasingly conservative Georgian Dream accuse it of derailing efforts to join the EU and of bringing the ex-Soviet country back into the Kremlin's orbit.

The European Union put Tbilisi's accession process on halt after Georgian Dream passed a law this year on "foreign influence" that opponents say mirrors repressive Russian legislation, and which has sparked weeks of mass street protests.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze insisted the elections were "entirely fair, free, competitive and clean" and that EU integration was his government's "top priority".

Near-final election results showed Georgian Dream won 53.9 percent of the vote, compared with 37.7 percent for an opposition coalition.