The Georgian Dream party, competing for power for the fourth time, emerged victorious with 54% of the votes in the Georgian parliamentary elections. The election results dealt a blow to the Western-oriented opposition that lost against Georgian Dream, which has close ties with Russia. The Georgian opposition had described the election as a choice between “Europe and Russia.” (News: Derya Doğan)The ruling Georgian Dream party won the parliamentary elections held yesterday in the South Caucasus country of Georgia.
The Georgian Central Election Commission announced that the Georgian Dream party, which received 54% of the votes, had won the election.
The Commission reported that more than 99% of the votes were counted.
Georgian Dream came to power for the fourth time.
Western-oriented Georgians saw the elections as a choice between strengthening ties with Russia and accelerating integration with the European Union.
The results struck a blow to the hopes of the Western-oriented opposition to join the European Union, which described the elections as a “constitutional coup.”
While the EU criticized Georgian Dream’s policies harshly, it emphasized that the election would play a decisive role in Georgia’s chance to join the EU.Georgian Dream Secretary General Mamuka Mdinaradze, speaking to journalists after the initial results yesterday evening, said, “Georgian Dream has achieved a strong majority.”
Tina Bokuchava, the leader of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition campaigning on a pro-Europe platform, claimed that the results were “manipulated” and the election was “stolen.”
UNM emphasized that they did not accept the results, stating, “We hope the opposition will be united in all action calls to be announced in the coming hours.”
Nika Gvaramia, the leader of the Akhali party, described this as a “constitutional coup” by the government, stating, “Georgian Dream will not remain in power.”In recent months, the opposition-friendly President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, had expressed her satisfaction after an exit poll showed the opposition winning.
However, Georgian Dream’s founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, celebrating his party’s success, raised his fist in the air at a rally after the initial results showed the government winning.
Ivanishvili said, “I assure you, our country will achieve great success in the next four years. We will do a lot.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, one of Moscow’s staunchest allies, congratulated the victory of Georgian Dream on social media.While NATO and EU integration remains a priority for Georgia, tensions have risen between the Tbilisi administration and some Western countries in recent times. 
The suspension of Georgia’s EU accession process due to the “Transparency of Foreign Influence,” also known as the “Foreign Agent” law, which led to prolonged protests in April and May and was dubbed “Russian law” by opponents, has led to strained relations with the West.
The EU suspended 30 million euros of aid planned for 2024 to the Georgian army, while the US announced some sanctions.
The US also announced the suspension of its $95 million aid to Georgia and the joint military exercise planned for this year, as well as imposing visa bans on some Georgian officials.The “Transparency of Foreign Influence” law requires civil society and media organizations in Georgia that receive more than 20% of their annual funding from abroad to register themselves as “foreign agents” in January of each year.
Failure to do so would result in facing fines.
While the Georgian opposition sees the election as a choice between “Europe and Russia,” the government describes it as a “matter of peace or war.”Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated that they had achieved an impressive victory in the parliamentary elections.
The Prime Minister, speaking at the Georgian Dream party’s Tbilisi headquarters, said, “The fate of preserving peace in our country, a very important election for our country, was determined. Ultimately, the Georgian people chose the only alternative, peace and development of the country, a bright future for the country.” expressing.
Kobakhidze said they received five times more votes than the opposition party with the most votes, stating, “Our victory is very impressive. We have a 43% difference with the second party.”