With more than 99% of precincts counted, the ruling Georgian Dream party, which has held power for 12 years, received 54% of the vote, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).
The poll was presented as an existential decision between strengthening connections with Russia, its regionally dominant neighbor, and advancing toward the West, possibly by entering the European Union, by both Georgian Dream and the opposition blocs seeking to overthrow the government.
Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, a Russian millionaire, has charged opposition parties with being “an agent of a foreign country that will only fulfil the tasks of a foreign country.”
If the party gained a constitutional majority, he further promised to outlaw all opposition groups that support the West.
Almost immediately after the polls closed, Mr. Ivanishvili declared victory, stating that it was “rare in the world for the same party to achieve such success in such a difficult situation.”
However, when competing exit polls were revealed, some of the opposition leaders, including Georgian Dream’s frequent opponent, Salome Zourabichvili, the pro-Western president of Georgia, also declared victory.
Earlier, Ms. Zourabichvili claimed on X that despite “attempts to rig elections,” her bloc, European Georgia, had won 52%.
