Georgian president won’t recognize parliament elections, calls for protests

TBILISI, Georgia — Georgia’s president said Sunday she did not admit the results of this weekend’s parliamentary vote, which predetermination officials accidental was won by the ruling party, adding that the state fell unfortunate to a “Russian peculiar operation” aimed astatine moving it disconnected a way toward Europe.

Standing alongside absorption leaders, President Salome Zourabichvili urged Georgians to rally Monday nighttime connected Tbilisi’s main thoroughfare to protestation what she called a “total falsification, a full stealing of your votes,” raising the imaginable of further governmental turmoil successful the South Caucasus nation.

She spoke the time aft an predetermination which could determine whether Georgia embraces Europe oregon falls nether the sway of Russia.

“This predetermination cannot beryllium recognized, due to the fact that it is the designation of Russia’s intrusion here, Georgia’s subordination to Russia,” Zourabichvili said.

The Central Election Commission said Sunday that the ruling party, Georgian Dream, got 54.8% of Saturday’s ballot with astir 100% of ballots counted.

Georgian Dream has go progressively authoritarian implicit the past year, adopting laws akin to those utilized by Russia to ace down connected state of speech.

Brussels suspended Georgia’s EU rank process indefinitely due to the fact that of a Russian-style “foreign power law,” passed successful June.

Many Georgians viewed Saturday’s ballot arsenic a referendum connected the accidental to articulation the European Union.

The predetermination run successful the South Caucasus federation of 3.7 cardinal people, which borders Russia, was dominated by overseas argumentation and marked by a bitter combat for votes and allegations of a smear campaign.

Zourabichvili suggested “Russian elections” were held successful the country, and said “technology was utilized to whitewash counterfeiting. Such a happening has ne'er happened before.”

European electoral observers said the predetermination took spot successful a “divisive” situation marked by intimidation and instances of ballot buying, treble voting and carnal violence.

During the campaign, Georgian Dream utilized “anti-Western and hostile rhetoric … promoted Russian misinformation, manipulations, and conspiracy theories,” said Antonio López-Istúriz White, the caput of the European Parliament monitoring delegation.

“Paradoxically, the authorities further claimed that it was continuing Georgia’s European integration,” helium added.

The behaviour of the polls, helium said, is much grounds that points to the ruling party’s “democratic backsliding.”

President of the European Council Charles Michel said helium called connected Georgia’s officials to “swiftly, transparently and independently investigate” the electoral irregularities and called connected the ruling enactment to show its “firm commitment” to the EU.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who is simply a subordinate of Georgian Dream, connected Sunday described his party’s triumph arsenic “impressive and obvious,” and said “any attempts to speech astir predetermination manipulation … are doomed to failure.”

Hungary’s Victor Orbán was the archetypal overseas person to congratulate Georgian Dream and volition beryllium the archetypal overseas person to sojourn Georgia and conscionable the premier curate erstwhile helium visits the superior for a sojourn Monday and Tuesday.

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Georgian electoral observers, who were stationed crossed the country, besides reported aggregate violations and said the results bash not bespeak “the volition of the Georgian people.”

In the superior Tbilisi, Tiko Gelashvili, 32, said, “The results that were published are conscionable lies and rigged.”

Initial figures suggested turnout successful the ballot was the highest since Georgian Dream was archetypal elected successful 2012.

The United National Movement absorption enactment said its office were attacked connected Saturday portion Georgian media reported 2 radical were hospitalized aft being attacked extracurricular polling stations.

“The astir important question is whether oregon not these elections volition beryllium recognized by the planetary community,” said Natia Seskuria, enforcement manager of the Regional Institute for Security Studies successful Tbilisi. Georgia’s “economic and governmental prospects” hinge connected the election, she said.

Georgians person a analyzable narration with Russia, which ruled it from Moscow until Georgia gained independency from the Soviet Union successful 1991.

Russia and Georgia fought a abbreviated warfare successful 2008, and Moscow inactive occupies 20% of Georgia’s territory.

Despite that, Georgian Dream has adopted Russia-style laws and galore Georgians fearfulness the authorities is distancing the state from the West and into Moscow’s orbit.

The predetermination observers said instances of intimidation and electoral violations were peculiarly noticeable successful agrarian areas.

Georgian Dream scored its highest stock of the ballot — polling astir 90% — successful the Javakheti portion of confederate Georgia, 135 kilometers (83 miles) westbound of the capital. In Tbilisi, it got nary much than than 44% of the ballot successful immoderate district.

Javakheti is predominantly cultivation and galore radical are taste Armenians who talk Armenian, Russian and constricted Georgian.

Before the election, the AP traveled to the portion wherever voters suggested they were instructed however to ballot by section officials. Several questioned wherefore Georgia needed a narration with Europe and suggested it would beryllium amended disconnected allied with Moscow.

Associated Press journalists Sophiko Megrelidze, successful Tbilisi, and Raf Casert, successful Brussels, contributed to this report