Charges of pro-Russia 'pressure' on voters in disputed Eastern Europe election
Georgia's western-allied president called for protests after a pro-Russia party won a weekend parliamentary election in the eastern European country amid allegations of voter intimidation and calls by the U.S. and its allies for an investigation.
In a Sunday speech, President Salome Zourabichvili refused to recognize the election results, which she said would not "legitimize Russia's takeover of Georgia," and called on citizens to protest in the capital of Tbilisi.
"We were not just witnesses but also victims of what can only be described as a Russian special operation, a new form of hybrid warfare waged against our people and our country," she said.
The election on Saturday saw the ruling Georgian Dream party take home a parliamentary victory with 53% of the vote.
But European election monitors flagged widespread reports of "pressure on voters, particularly on public sector employees" and "extensive tracking of voters on election day."
The elections "unfolded amid entrenched polarization in an environment marred by concerns over recently adopted legislation, its impact on fundamental freedoms and civil society," the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said in a statement.
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Widespread "reports of pressure on voters, particularly on public sector employees" and "extensive tracking of voters on election day, raised concerns about the ability of some voters to cast their vote without fear of retribution."
The European Union and U.S. called for a probe of possible "irregularities."
Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for a "full investigation of all reports of election-related violations" in a statement on Sunday.
Josep Borrell, high representative of the European Commission, said in a statement that Georgian authorities must "fulfil their duty to swiftly, transparently and independently investigate and adjudicate electoral irregularities and allegations."
Four other pro-Western Georgian opposition parties also pushed back on the election's legitimacy and said Georgians should take to the streets – Coalition for Change party leader Nika Gvaramia called it a "constitutional coup," and Tina Bokuchava, of the United National Movement, said the election was "stolen."
The election's aftermath could plunge the country into a "deep and prolonged political crisis," Royal United Services Institute associate fellow Natia Seskuria said in a statement.
"Even if the EU recognises the election results but the country ends up in a political crisis and with no prospects of the Government committing to the EU requirements, it is highly unlikely that Georgia will be able to advance on its European integration path," she wrote.
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'Enemies of the country must be banned'
At his final rally before the election, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgian Dream's leader, vowed to ban opposition parties.
"Those who are enemies of the people and enemies of the country must be banned," he said in an interview on Imedi TV last week.
The party also backed a law that Zourabichvili called an "exact duplicate" of a 2012 Russian law that helped Russian President Vladimir Putin crack down on political dissent and stifle democratic rights. The bill's passage in the spring sparked widespread protests in the capital.
According to the law, organizations that receive more than a fifth of their funding from outside the country must register as agents of foreign influence.
The bill's supporters said it was needed to weed out foreign interference and western influence operations.
Zourabichvili vetoed the bill, but it her veto was overturned by the Georgian Dream-dominated Parliament.
Ivanishvili, a billionaire who raked in a fortune in banking and the computer industry after Georgia's break from the Soviet Union, campaigned on a platform of keeping Georgia out of the Ukraine War. Although the party says it supports Georgia's bid to join the European Union, E.U. leaders say the party's authoritarian tendencies are holding up its admission.
Georgian Dream also launched a clamp down on LGBTQ rights, including backing an October bill that would outlaw gender transitions and could ban pride parades and displays of the rainbow flag.
Russian, Western political interests clash in Georgia
Georgia, an Eastern European country of around 3.7 million people, has been the focuts of a tug-of-war between pro-Russian and pro-Western factions since it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
In 2008, war broke out when Russia-backed separatists tried to declare independence for two regions in the country. Russia sent troops in, and today, those areas remain under Russian control.
Georgia applied to join the European Union in March of 2022, and was granted candidate status the next year. And polls show Georgians have one of the highest rates of support for tightening ties with Europe among the former Soviet states.
But Russia's invasion of Ukraine exacerbated the country's political divide. Since the beginning of the war, parts of Georgia have become havens for Russians fleeing political persecution for protesting the war or refusing to serve.
Contributing: Reuters
Cybele Mayes-Osterman is a breaking news reporter for USA Today. Reach her on email at cmayesosterman@usatoday.com. Follow her on X @CybeleMO.