Georgia thrown into political turmoil after disputed parliamentary elections

Georgia was plunged into political turmoil on Sunday after the ruling party declared victory in parliamentary elections decried by the opposition as "falsified".

The European Union had warned that Saturday's vote, seen as a crucial test of democracy in the Caucasus country, would determine Tbilisi's chances of joining the bloc.

The result sets the stage for a political showdown that analysts warn could derail Georgia's European aspirations.

Read moreAt odds with the EU, Georgia cosies up to Russia

Official tallies from more than 99 percent of precincts showed the ruling Georgian Dream party winning 54.08 percent of the vote, while a union of four pro-Western opposition alliances garnered 37.58 percent, according to central election commission chair Giorgi Kalandarishvili.

"The elections took place in a calm and free environment," he added.

The result gives Georgian Dream 91 seats in the 150-member parliament -- enough to govern but short of the supermajority it had sought to pass a constitutional ban on all main opposition parties.

"Our victory is impressive," Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said in a statement, accusing the opposition of "undermining the country's constitutional order."

An exit poll by a United States pollster, Edison Research, had forecast the opposite result. 

Opposition parties alleged incidents of ballot stuffing and intimidation during voting, and called the results "fraudulent".

Tina Bokuchava, leader of the opposition United National Movement (UNM) that campaigned on a pro-European platform, said the results were "falsified" and the election "stolen."

"This is an attempt to steal Georgia's future," she said, declaring that the UNM did not accept the results.

Nika Gvaramia, leader of the liberal Akhali party, called the way the vote was held "a constitutional coup" by the government. 

"Georgian Dream will not stay in power," he said.

Pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili said there had been "deeply troubling incidents of violence" at some polling stations.

'Kremlin plan'

Analyst Gela Vasadze of the Georgian Strategic Analysis Centre said the Caucasus country is plunging "into political instability for an indefinite period" and that its EU hopes had "dimmed".

"The situation is revolutionary, but opposition ranks lack charismatic leaders who could channel popular anger into a protest wave capable of bringing about political change."

Georgia was gripped by mass demonstrations earlier this year against what the opposition saw as government attempts to curtail democratic freedoms and steer the country of four million off its pro-Western course and towards Russia's orbit.

An election observer at a polling station in Georgia's south-eastern village of Sadakhlo told AFP that he had "witnessed massive ballot staffing" and suggested "coordinated multiple voting in favour of Georgian Dream."

The Akhali party said the elections were rigged even before the election day, citing alleged tampering with electronic voting machines that enabled multiple voting.

Prominent investigative journalist Christo Grozev said on X: "It appears that the Kremlin plan for crude vote rigging is in motion," adding that there was "evidence obtained by European intelligence that Russian secret services had the Georgian central election agency."

EU accession on halt  

In power since 2012, Georgian Dream initially pursued a liberal pro-Western policy agenda. But it has reversed course over the last two years.

Its campaign centred on a conspiracy theory about a "global war party" that controls Western institutions and is seeking to drag Georgia into the Russia-Ukraine war.

In a country scarred by Russia's 2008 invasion, the party has offered voters bogeyman stories about an imminent threat of war, which only Georgian Dream could prevent.

Georgian Dream's controversial "foreign influence" law which targeted civil society sparked weeks of street protests and was criticised as a Kremlin-style measure to silence dissent.

The move prompted Brussels to freeze Georgia's EU accession process, while Washington imposed sanctions on dozens of Georgian officials.

The ruling party has also mounted a campaign against sexual minorities. It has adopted measures that ban LGBTQ "propaganda", nullify same-sex marriages conducted abroad, and outlaw gender reassignment.

Observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) are set to hold a press conference later Sunday afternoon to present their preliminary conclusions.

(AFP)