The ruling party leads the elections in Georgia; Opposition says vote 'stolen'

Georgia's opposition party refuses to recognize the preliminary results of Saturday's parliamentary elections, which show the ruling national party leading with 70% of the votes counted.

The election commission said Georgian Dream – which favors cooperation with Russia – was leading with 53% of the vote, an absolute majority.

The Unity electoral coalition, which includes the opposition United National Movement, is reported to have received around 10% of the vote, behind the Coalition for Change camp's around 11%.

The four European opposition parties passed the 5% threshold with a combined 38% of the vote, according to the electoral commission.

Speaking in the capital Tbilisi, Tinatin Bokuchkva, leader of the United National Movement, accused late Saturday that the election commission had “done the dirty work of billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili.”

Ivanishvili, 68, is the founder and respected chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, which favors cooperation with Russia.

He had started celebrating his party's victory shortly after the polls closed.

The anti-Western coalition, the Coalition for Change, also announced that it would not respect the results. “The election was stolen from the opposition parties. This is a coup d'état and abuse of power,” said politician Nika Gvaramia in a press conference.

Gvaramia alleged that the election was rigged using a sophisticated technical system, but did not provide details.

President Salome Zourabichvili, who has close ties to the opposition, told X that pro-European parties won 52% of the vote.

“I am proud and confident about our future in Europe,” he said.

Voter turnout is 59%

Voter turnout is estimated at 59%, according to preliminary figures.

About 3.5 million citizens were asked to vote at home and abroad.

A stunning victory for Georgian Dream could threaten the country's chances of joining the European Union after the group passed a number of controversial laws in recent years.

However, the process is frozen because of those controversial laws.

That is why, in the run-up to the vote, the pro-Western forces in particular spoke of a bad election for the country, which is at a crossroads and where both Russia and the West have strong influence.

The electoral success of the party founded by billionaire Ivanishvili could mean the country's turning away from the EU and closer cooperation with its big neighbor Russia.

Ivanishvili became a millionaire through business deals in Russia.

Widespread reports of irregularities

During Saturday, local media reported incidents and clashes at polling stations.

In the small town of Marneuli in the southeast of the country, a man threw several ballot papers into a ballot box at a polling station, according to the Central Election Commission.

It is said that the results at the polling station will not be counted. The opposition parties and the government blamed each other for this incident.

The Ministry of the Interior has opened criminal charges.

Due to the tension in the country and concerns about electoral fraud, many observers have been deployed by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to monitor the voting.

Electoral law experts have been complaining about the misuse of state resources by the ruling party.

About 500 observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) are also on the ground. They will give their decision on the election on Sunday.