On Saturday, elections were held for the parliament in Georgia. This has been considered a fateful choice for Georgia, particularly in the question of whether the country should move more in the direction of the EU or Russia. The election is between the incumbent government party “Georgisk drøm” and various pro-Western and pro-EU parties that make up the opposition. According to the Georgian Electoral Commission, Georgian Dream had 53 percent support when 70 percent of the votes had been counted. Reuters reports. According to the commission, turnout was 59 per cent. Speaking polls At 18:00 Norwegian time, various election day polls were published by the Georgian media. Shortly afterwards, both the ruling party and the opposition claimed that they had won the election, according to Reuters. This despite the fact that the votes have not been counted. It was Georgian Dream’s founder and former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili who publicly declared that they had won the election. – I can assure you that our country will achieve great success in the next four years, he says, according to Reuters. The survey from the government-friendly TV channel Imedi shows that Georgian Dream leads with 56.1 percent. Supporters of the Georgian Dream celebrate what they believe is an election victory in the capital, Tbilisi. Photo: Zurab Javakhadze / Reuters/NTB But measurements from the opposition-friendly channels Formula and Matavari Arkhi show that the opposition wins the majority. – European Georgia wins the election with 52 percent support, wrote the EU-friendly president Salome Zurabishvili in a message on X. Georgia is a republic and has both a prime minister and a president. But it is the prime minister who leads the government and holds the most power. President Salomé Zourabichvili casts her vote. Photo: Shakh Aivazov / AP/NTB The opposition is led by Tina Bokutsjava. – Most people will take Bidzina Ivanishvili’s claims that he has won a majority with a grain of salt, she says in a statement. Ruled for 12 years Georgian Dream has been in power since 2012. The party has become increasingly friendly to Russia, despite officially saying it wants EU membership. Georgian Dream has been accused of leading the country in a more authoritarian direction. Large demonstration against the controversial “foreign agents” law that the government wants to introduce. The picture is from 28 May this year. Photo: Zurab Tsertsvadze / AP/NTB This spring there were large demonstrations in Georgia. The background was a controversial bill from the government. The majority wants to join the EU In the past, opinion polls have shown that the vast majority of the Georgian population wants the country to become a member of the EU. It is especially the younger generations who are fighting the hardest for Georgia to become an EU member. In December last year, the country received so-called candidate status, an important step on the way to becoming an EU member. But the current government has put obstacles in the way of this work, partly because of the controversial bill. Published 26.10.2024, at 20.13 Updated 26.10.2024, at 20.24
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Fateful election in Georgia – both sides claim they won – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
