A partial recount of the votes cast during the contested legislative elections in Georgia confirmed the victory of the ruling party, the electoral commission told Agence France-Presse on Thursday, October 31, as the opposition denounced a vote ” stolen “.
This recount of approximately 12% of polling stations and 14% of ballots “did not result in a significant change to the official results previously announced”declared the authority.
The vote took place on Sunday in this former small Soviet republic in the Caucasus. According to the official results, the Georgian Dream party, in control since 2012 and accused by its detractors of pro-Russian authoritarian drift, won. But the European Union (EU), the United States and international observers had expressed doubts about the regularity of the vote.
On Wednesday, the Georgian prosecutor's office announced the opening of an investigation into “alleged falsification” legislative elections. The prosecution specified that it had summoned the pro-Western Georgian president, Salomé Zourabichvili, since she would be “ likely to have evidence regarding possible election tampering”. She announced on Wednesday that she refused to go there.
The vote was seen as a test for the European future of Georgia, which aims to join the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Since the start of the year, the country has also adopted legislation denounced by its Western partners and very close to Russian laws. One concerns “foreign influence” and had sparked massive protests in May, and another restricted the rights of LGBT+ people.
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