Georgia’s crucial vote was marred by intimidation, European monitors say

European observers said Sunday that Georgia’s election took place in a “climate of hatred and intimidation” with multiple election violations and cases of violence, undermining the outcome of the vote that could decide the country’s future in Europe.

The country’s Central Election Commission said the ruling Georgian Dream won 54.8% of Saturday’s vote with almost all the ballots counted. Following a divisive pre-election campaign, initial figures suggested turnout is the highest since the ruling party was first elected in 2012.

There were multiple concerns about the conduct of the election, including “the widespread climate of pressure, and party-organized intimidation,” vote buying and the impartiality of state institutions, said Julian Bulai, head of the PACE delegation monitoring the polls.

Georgian Dream has become increasingly authoritarian over the past year, adopting laws similar to those used by Russia to crack down on freedom of speech. Brussels suspended Georgia’s EU membership process indefinitely because of a “Russian law,” passed in June. Many Georgians viewed Saturday’s vote as a referendum on the opportunity to join the European Union.

During the campaign, Georgian Dream used “anti-Western and hostile rhetoric … promoted Russian misinformation, manipulations, and conspiracy theories,” said Antonio Lopez-Isturiz White, the head of the European Parliament monitoring delegation.

“Paradoxically, the government further claimed that it was continuing Georgia’s European integration,” he added.

The conduct of the polls, he said, is more evidence that points to the ruling party’s “democratic backsliding.”

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Sunday described Georgian Dream’s victory as “impressive and obvious,” and said “any attempts to talk about election manipulation … are doomed to failure.”

Georgian electoral observers, who were stationed across the country, also reported multiple violations and said the results do not reflect “the will of the Georgian people.”

In the capital Tbilisi, Tiko Gelashvili, 32, said, “The results that were published are just lies and rigged.”

Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of Georgian Dream who made his fortune in Russia, claimed victory almost immediately after polls closed Saturday.

“It is rare in the world for the same party to achieve such success in such a difficult situation,” he said. He had vowed ahead of the election to ban opposition parties should his party win.

Tina Bokuchava, the chair of the United National Movement opposition party, accused the election commission of carrying out Ivanishvili’s “dirty order” and said that he “stole the victory from the Georgian people and thereby stole the European future.”

She indicated the opposition would not recognize the results and “will fight like never before to reclaim our European future.”

The UNM party said its headquarters was attacked on Saturday while Georgian media reported two people were hospitalized after being assaulted outside polling stations.

“The most important question is whether or not these elections will be recognized by the international community,” said Natia Seskuria, executive director of the Regional Institute for Security Studies in Tbilisi. Georgia’s “economic and political prospects” hinge on the election, she said.

Many Georgians are concerned the EU may close the door on them and fear the country will be more vulnerable to Russia if Georgian Dream remains in power, she said.

Georgians have a complex relationship with Russia, which ruled over it from Moscow until Georgia gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Russia and Georgia fought a short war in 2008, and Moscow still occupies 20% of Georgia’s territory.

Despite that, Georgian Dream has adopted Russia-style laws and many Georgians fear the govermment is distancing the country from the West and into Moscow’s orbit.

The election observers said instances of intimidation and electoral violations were particularly noticeable in rural areas.

Georgian Dream scored its highest share of the vote — polling almost 90% — in the Javakheti region of southern Georgia, 135 kilometers (83 miles) west of the capital Tbilisi, where it got less than 44% of the vote in any district.

The region is predominantly agricultural and many people are ethnic Armenians who speak Armenian, Russian and limited Georgian. Before the election, the AP traveled to the region where voters suggested they were instructed how to vote by local officials. Several questioned why Georgia needed a relationship with Europe and suggested it would be better off allied with Moscow.

Around 80% of Georgians favor joining the EU, according to polls, and the country’s constitution obliges its leaders to pursue membership in that bloc and NATO.