Anxiety looms over Georgia’s election as voters cast ballots – POLITICO

TBILISI, Georgia — Georgians are hitting polling stations this morning to cast their votes in a parliamentary election that could determine whether the South Caucasian country tilts toward the EU or Moscow.

The ruling Georgian Dream party, which has been at the helm of the government since 2012, is being criticized for its authoritarian shift. It’s competing against a coalition of pro-European opposition parties that have pledged to correct the country’s deviation from the EU path.

Should Georgian Dream win another term, it has pledged to ban virtually all opposition parties.