Last month, Georgia held its parliamentary election. Over 50 percent of eligible voters participated in the electoral process in Georgia, and thousands of members of the Georgian diaspora cast their ballots as well.
According to independent exit polls, the opposition movement and political parties that favored closer ties with the European Union had won the election. Many Georgians celebrated, but Georgian Dream, the ruling party in the Georgian parliament, made a different announcement. Instead of conceding the election, the current ruling party in Georgian parliament announced it had won. Georgian state media and various government agencies controlled by Georgian Dream also promoted this fabricated story.
The announcement sparked outrage. Following the statement by the ruling party in parliament, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said that Georgian Dream had stolen the election. Similarly, three of Georgia’s four charter signatories announced that they did not recognize Georgian Dream’s allegation that it had won the election. Instead, President Zourabichvili and the opposition parties called on Georgian citizens to protest the results of the stolen election.
Over the past two weeks, thousands of citizens have gathered in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. The demonstrators have demanded a new parliamentary election under international supervision. Furthermore, they have called for investigations into violations during the electoral process as there were several reported cases of election fraud. The protestors and members of the opposition have stated that they will continue to hold their demonstrations until Georgian Dream meets these demands.
The ruling party in parliament, however, has no intention of relinquishing its power. Instead, Georgian Dream has attempted to influence Georgian politics through fear tactics. For example, the ruling party falsely accused opposition members of trying to orchestrate a coup to force Georgian Dream out of power ahead of the election. Georgian Dream also made a baseless claim that the EU and the United States Agency for International Development were meddling in Georgian affairs before the election.
Upon further investigations, Georgian Dream’s accusations about a coup or international election interference were fabricated. These statements were nothing more than attempts for the ruling party to try and justify its control over the Georgian government. To date, Georgian Dream does not plan to vacate its position in parliament or hold new elections.
Realizing the ruling party will not alter its stance, ethnic Georgians now call for the international community to intervene. For example, members of the Georgian diaspora held demonstrations in prominent cities across the EU where they urged the Europeans to put pressure on Georgian Dream. In response, the EU called for investigations into “election ‘irregularities’ in Georgia’s disputed parliamentary elections.” In addition, the EU has not recognized the elections. Instead, prominent politicians in Europe, as well as in North America, have stated that the parliamentary electoral process in Georgia was “neither free nor fair.”
Aside from condemning the election results, the EU has also decided to get tough on Georgian Dream. As Georgian Dream refuses to relinquish its power, the EU has decided to halt its accession process with Georgia. In a recent statement, the EU said that there have been “concerning developments [in Georgia] that do not reflect the [Georgian] government’s stated commitment to the EU path.” As a result, Georgia’s accession process will be halted until improvements are made by the Georgian government, which include strengthening democratic institutions, promoting democracy, and improving human rights in Georgia. In the meantime, the EU will continue to denounce the results of the Georgian parliamentary election.
In short, the future of Georgia and its democracy are at stake. Realizing the situation’s urgency, Georgian citizens, the Georgian diaspora, and the Georgian opposition have united to fight against the power grab enforced by Georgian Dream. With added pressure from the EU, this Georgian coalition will hope this will be enough for Georgian Dream to hold a new, free, and fair parliamentary election.
Time will tell on how these matters will proceed. For now, the EU and the international community will watch on anxiously as Georgians look to determine their future. It appears that Georgian citizens, the opposition, and the diaspora have now taken matters into their own hands.
Mark Temnycky is an accredited freelance journalist covering Eurasian affairs and a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center.
