Georgia's ruling party, winner of parliamentary elections, says EU remains its “priority”

Photo: Giorgi Arjevanidze Agence France-Presse The opposition accuses the ruling party, led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili (pictured), of moving Georgia closer to Moscow and away from possible membership in the European Union and NATO, two goals enshrined in its constitution.

Romain Colas – Agence France-Presse in Tbilisi

Published at 8:43

• Europe

Georgia's ruling party, which won the parliamentary elections, said Monday that European integration remained its “priority,” in response to the pro-Western opposition, which accused it of pro-Russian authoritarianism and called for protests later in the day.

The European Union expressed concern over the victory of the Georgian Dream party in Saturday's election, calling for an investigation into “electoral irregularities.” Berlin echoed this demand, citing “significant irregularities.”

But, in a discordant voice, the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, close to Moscow, is expected in Georgia on Monday and Tuesday, a snub to the EU, of which Hungary holds the rotating presidency.

This visit has provoked the anger of Brussels. The Hungarian leader “does not represent the European Union,” the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borell, criticized on Monday.

Faced with the controversy, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze repeated that Tbilisi's “main priority” “in terms of foreign policy is, naturally, European integration.”

“Everything will be done to ensure that Georgia is fully integrated into the EU by 2030,” he promised to journalists, saying he “expected a restart of relations” with Brussels, after strong tensions in recent months, against a backdrop of pro-Russian authoritarian drift according to the opposition.

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Expected demonstrations

According to almost final results, the Georgian Dream, in power since 2012, was credited Monday morning with 53.92% of the vote, compared to 37.78% for the opposition coalition.

The latter, which had initially claimed victory based on exit polls on Saturday, refuses to recognize its defeat and will try Monday evening to make itself heard in the streets with a large demonstration.

“We are witnesses and victims of a special Russian operation, a modern form of hybrid warfare against the Georgian people,” President Salome Zourabichvili, who has broken with the government, denounced on Sunday, without specifying her allegations.

The spokesman for the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov, said he “firmly rejects” these “totally unfounded” accusations, accusing Ms. Zourabichvili of “attempts to destabilize” her own country.

The opposition accuses the ruling party, led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, of bringing Georgia closer to Moscow and distancing it from possible membership in the European Union and NATO, two objectives enshrined in its constitution.

Former President Mikheil Saakashvili, now imprisoned and a rival of Mr Ivanishvili, has also called for “massive demonstrations” to “show the world that we are fighting for freedom”.

“Attack” to come

One of the opposition components, the Coalition for Change, has announced that it will give up its parliamentary mandates so as not to “give legitimacy” to the vote. According to Mikheil Saakashvili, “no one” among the opposition deputies should enter the parliament.

International observers from the OSCE had mentioned “pressure” during the vote and listed a number of dysfunctions, such as “cases of vote buying”.

Despite this, “Georgian Dream maintains a strong base of support by effectively playing on fears of an imminent threat of war” with Russia, political analyst Ghia Nodia told AFP.

According to him, “the conditions are not conducive to serious upheaval [in the country, editor’s note]. I rather expect Georgian Dream to launch a large-scale attack on opponents, civil society and independent media.”

Georgia was rocked in May by large protests against a “foreign influence” law, inspired by Russian “foreign agents” legislation used to crush civil society. But this mobilisation was not enough to cause the text to fail.

Brussels subsequently froze the EU accession process and the United States imposed sanctions against Georgian officials.

Some Georgian Dream leaders are also highly critical of the West. Bidzina Ivanishvili has called them the “world war party.”

This former Soviet republic in the Caucasus is scarred by its defeat in a brief war with Russia in 2008, and by the threat of a new invasion, such as that of Ukraine.

Moscow has military bases in two Georgian separatist regions whose independence the Kremlin has recognized: Abkhazia and South Ossetia.