Georgia’s opposition rejects the ruling party’s election win and plans protests

Georgia’s opposition on the election results

The opposition alliances “Unity – National Movement” and “Coalition for Change” have announced they do not accept the results of Georgia‘s parliamentary elections held on October 26, 2024.

A third coalition, “Strong Georgia,” has yet to clearly reject the results, but its leaders assert they will not “give up these elections to anyone.”

Meanwhile, Giorgi Gakharia, former prime minister and leader of “For Georgia,” stated that his party is aware of the authorities’ alleged election-rigging tactics but will await final results before revealing their next steps.

Transparency International Georgia’s Executive Director Eka Gigauri also announced that they do not recognize the preliminary results from the Central Election Commission (CEC), a decision supported by many NGOs.

Georgia’s elections are over. Opposition exit polls show 40% for the ruling party, while government polls report over 51%

According to the opposition, the 5% threshold was crossed by the “Coalition for Change,” “Unity – United National Movement,” “Strong Georgia,” “Gakharia – for Georgia,” and “Georgian Dream.” However, according to “Imedi,” the Gakharia’s party did not clear the threshold

Opposition party leaders made their statements on the night of October 26-27, just hours after the elections and the Central Election Commission (CEC) announced preliminary results.

These statements followed a closed meeting of leaders from three opposition coalitions: “Unity – National Movement,” “Coalition for Change,” and “Strong Georgia.”

Tina Bokuchava, chair of the “Unity – National Movement” alliance, stated during a midnight briefing, “The CEC carried out a dirty order from Ivanishvili and announced results that show the oligarch stole the victory from the Georgian people, thereby stealing our European future. We declare that we do not recognize the results of these stolen and falsified elections.“

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“The elections were stolen. There has been a usurpation of power; this is a coup. The ‘Georgian Dream’ will have to recognize the opposition’s victory. We have decoded the scheme by which these elections were stolen. We will defend the votes. The authors of the constitutional coup are waiting for results established by law,” stated Nika Gvaramia, one of the leaders of the “Coalition for Change.“

“We are outraged by what the Central Election Commission has dared to announce. The results do not reflect the will of the Georgian people. We will fight to protect every vote and use all legal means to defend the democratic and European choice of the Georgian people. We will not give this choice to anyone,” said Ana Dolidze from the “Strong Georgia” coalition.

In the parliamentary elections, 150 deputies are to be elected. A total of 18 political parties participated in the elections on October 26, 2024. These elections are notable for two key innovations: they were held entirely under a proportional system for the first time, and an electronic voting and counting system was used at most polling stations.

Natia Mezvrishvili, one of the leaders of the “For Georgia” party, stated that the elections were falsified and that the party has evidence of so-called “carousel” voting and voter bribery.

“The party has already filed complaints with the relevant authorities. According to the law, we will wait for the announcement of the final results. But we will not sit idly by; we will work to provide all evidence to local and international observers,” said Mezvrishvili.

Elene Khoshtaria, one of the leaders of the “Coalition for Change,” confirmed the information about upcoming protests.

“These were not ordinary elections. This is a time when we must save the country from Russia, a time when Europe supports us. We said there were different scenarios, and we prepared for them. And now this scenario has arrived. The authorities have chosen a path of self-destruction. We are very strong today. We will not accept these stolen elections and will move to continuous protests,” Khoshtaria stated.

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Georgia’s opposition on the election results