This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
Tens of thousands of Georgians took to the streets on October 28 after President Salome Zurabishvili accused the country’s ruling party of employing Russian-style tactics in parliamentary elections whose official results she refuses to recognize.
Demonstrators gathered outside the main parliament building in central Tbilisi as criticism mounted over voting irregularities, and Georgian election monitors claimed to have uncovered a large-scale fraud scheme that altered the election outcome in favor of the ruling party.
Official results of the October 26 election gave the ruling Georgian Dream party more than 54 percent of the vote, enough to maintain control of the government.
“You did not lose the election,” Zurabishvili told the demonstrators. “They stole your vote and tried to steal your future, but no one has the right to do that, and you will not let anyone do that!”
She vowed to defend the South Caucasus nation’s path toward Europe.
“We have no alternative and nothing else we want to leave this country for the next generations,” she said.
In calling for the protests on October 27, Zurabishvili said that the official result was evidence of a “Russian special operation — one of the new forms of hybrid warfare carried out on our people, our country.”
In an interview with Reuters on October 28, Zurabishvili expounded on her comments, saying that she was not directly accusing Russia of falsifying the vote. Rather, Zurabishvili said, she was saying that the “very sophisticated” methods of using “multiple forms of fraud” mirrored tactics used by Russia’s Federal Security Service.
Zurabishvili alleged that Georgian Dream had clear links to Moscow, which she said was evidenced by Russia’s messages of support following the vote and the government’s passage of a controversial “foreign influence” law similar to Russia’s own “foreign agent law.”
The legislation has been harshly criticized by Washington and Brussels, and the parliamentary elections held on October 26 were seen as a test of Georgia’s democratic credentials as it continues on its paths toward NATO and EU membership.
The U.S. State Department said on October 28 that the United States joined calls from election observers for a full investigation of reports of election-related violations.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller also said that further consequences if the Georgian government’s direction does not change had not been ruled out.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived in Tbilisi to show support for Georgian Dream.
Orban, whose country currently holds the European Union’s rotating presidency, was booed as he left his hotel near the Georgian parliament where tens of thousands had gathered.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused the opposition of attempting to “shake the constitutional order” of the country and refusing to accept defeat. In apparent allusion to the “foreign influence” legislation, he accused the opposition of standing behind pro-Western NGOs he claimed were “fighting for the nontransparency of their own finances.”
But Kobakhidze said his government remained committed to European integration amid concerns that the election could harm the country’s relations with the West and show a turn toward Moscow.
People who spoke with RFE/RL on October 28 said they were concerned about the tense situation.
“I’m very afraid. It’s evident that the political tension is escalating,” said Ketevan Kipiani. “I’m not ruling anything out, given what’s been happening recently. The fact is, neither side is backing down. I don’t think there’ll be civil conflict, though.”
Nino Gureshidze told RFE/RL the situation was driving a feeling of hopelessness.
“But I still believe that, with the help of our international partners and wise decisions by Georgian politicians, we might get out of this crisis. However, there could also be negative outcomes,” Gureshidze said, referring to the possibility of unrest and conflict.
The elections were marred by “an uneven playing field, pressure, and tension,” according to a joint observer mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Council of Europe, European Parliament, and NATO.
Election observers also decried recorded instances of vote buying, double voting, physical violence, and intimidation.
A coalition of monitoring organizations known as My Voice said at a briefing on October 28 that on election day its observers from 1,131 precincts said there were more than 900 cases of violation of election procedures.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “while international and local observers agreed that election day was generally well-administered, we note reports of irregularities and sporadic violence.”
He added that “international observers have not declared the result to be free and fair.”
As election returns started coming in, members of the opposition noticed the disparity between official results that showed Georgian Dream faring much better than opposition exit polls had predicted.
Tina Bokuchava, chairwoman of the United National Movement, which leads the Unity To Save Georgia coalition, said that “we do not intend to recognize the outcome of this stolen election.”
