Ruling party leads in parliamentary elections in Georgia, opposition claims falsifications

Georgia's ruling party, Georgian Dream, has gained 54.2% of the votes in the parliamentary elections after counting the results from 97.01% of the polling stations. However, this is not enough for a constitutional majority.

The four opposition parties have gained a total of 37.3% of the votes, including: Coalition of Changes - 10.8%, Unity - National Movement - 10.07%, Strong Georgia - 8.7%, Gakharia - for Georgia - 7.7%.

The parliamentary elections in Georgia have been recognized as valid, said Giorgi Kalandarishvili, head of the country's Central Election Commission. Meanwhile, the country's opposition parties have not recognized the results and announced protests.

The coalition mission of Georgian civil organizations, My Voice, has published its final assessment of election violations, noting that a complex falsification scheme was developed. According to her, unprecedented pressure was exerted on observers throughout the day, cases of physical attacks, verbal abuse, intimidation and unjustified removal from polling stations were recorded. Two or more ballots were issued en masse to one voter. There were cases when ballots already contained a mark in favor of the ruling party. The professional activities of journalists were obstructed in order to hide falsification schemes and deprive the public of information about them.

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