The parliamentary elections in Georgia last Saturday resulted in a victory for the governing Georgian Dream party, which received about 55 % of the votes, but both the international election observer mission and the European Commission questioned the election process and the accuracy of the results.
Referring to the preliminary findings and conclusions of the observation mission led by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell and the Commission issued a statement denouncing the electoral process.
“While the election day was generally procedurally well-organised, the elections took place in a tense environment, with frequent compromises in vote secrecy and several procedural inconsistencies, as well as reports of intimidation and pressure on voters that negatively impacted public trust in the process.”
Moreover, election observers reported an uneven level playing field, a divisive campaign in a polarised atmosphere and significant concerns over the impact of recent legislative amendments on the election process.
The EU called on the Central Election Commission of Georgia to investigate the electoral irregularities to rebuild trust in the integrity of the elections of the elections but has apparently not taken a final decision on whether to recognized the outcome. For this to happen, it looks forward to the final election observer report and its recommendations as soon as possible.
A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process normally takes a few months after the end of the process. A spokesperson of OSCE/ODIHR told The Brussels Times said that the final report on the elections in Georgia will be published in approximately two months’ time.
This is too late to feed into the Commission's enlargement package this week. What is clear is that any legislation that undermines the fundamental rights and freedoms of Georgian citizens and runs counter to the values and principles upon which the EU is founded, must be repealed, the EU statement said, referring to the latest European Council conclusions (17 October).
In the conclusions, while the Council reaffirmed the Union’s readiness to support the Georgian people on their European path, it expressed serious concern regarding the course of action taken by the Georgian government. “Such a course of action jeopardises Georgia’s European path, and de facto halts the accession process.”
Despite the critical findings in the preliminary report, the election observers stopped short of characterizing the elections as “unfree and unfair”. Judging by previous missions, they are unlikely to do it in the final report. Based on the exit polls, the opposition parties expected that they would won the election and sparked allegations about falsification in the counting of the votes.
“While the campaign offered voters a wide choice in the run-up to Georgia’s parliamentary elections, it is not enough to bring an election in line with international democratic principles,” said Eoghan Murphy, who headed the ODIHR mission. Pascal Allizard, Special Co-ordinator, raised concerns about imbalances in financial resources and the recent legislative amendments.”
“We continue to express deep concerns about the democratic backsliding in Georgia,” summarized Antonio López-Istúriz White, Head of the European Parliament delegation.
Controversial legislation
The most controversial legislation is the "Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence". The law, dubbed as the “foreign agents’ law” and “Russian law”, was rushed in the parliament last May by the ruling Georgian Dream Party. Lawmakers of the ruling party have also hastily enacted other legislative changes, including changes in the election process legislation that run against international standards.
Did the victory of the Georgian Dream come as a surprise? “To some extent yes, given the Georgian Dram's anti-Western politics and rhetoric, and the fact that 80% of the Georgians are in favour of the EU integration, but it was difficult to anticipate," Dr. Teona Lavrelashvili, a visiting fellow at Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, told The Brussels Times.
"The result was difficult to gauge from the beginning, as we don’t have truly independent pollsters in Georgia, and the methodology of many polls is quite flawed. In most cases, polls are based on phone calls, where respondents may not necessarily reveal their first choice. Furthermore, a high percentage of undecided voters - around 61% - made it challenging to predict outcomes accurately.”
Voter turnout in the elections was relatively high (59 %), which is in-between the turnouts in previous elections. “I believe there are three primary reasons why Georgians voted for Georgian Dream,” she explained.
“First, with 20% of Georgian territory under Russian occupation, Georgian Dream’s peace and stability message appears to have resonated with voters, particularly in rural areas, who are wary of renewed war. Campaign ads contrasted peaceful Georgian cities with war-ravaged Ukraine, framing the ruling as the party of security and stability.
Second, opposition parties leaned heavily on pro-EU rhetoric, aiming to appeal to the majority of Georgians who support EU membership. However, their lack of concrete policies - especially regarding economic reform - weakened their appeal to undecided voters and diluted their EU-focused message.
Third, while 80% of Georgians support EU integration, this sentiment has not fully translated into votes for opposition parties. A majority feel that no party adequately represents their interests. Georgian Dreams’ campaign materials prominently featured EU symbols, subtly suggesting a continued, albeit slower, path toward EU integration.”
The Commission’s Enlargement Package, incl. a country report on Georgia, will be published on 30 October. Will Georgia’s accession process be suspended? “The Commission will undoubtedly address Georgia’s troubled electoral situation. Without a response from the Georgian government to the EU’s calls to review the election results and investigate the allegations, the process is unlikely to progress and will likely stagnate further.”
A Commission spokesperson said on Monday that all options are on the table and referred to a confidential options paper which the EU Member States has received. First of all the new Georgian government must cancel the legislation which does not align with the EU acquis and Georgia’s candidate country status.
At its meeting on 14 December 2023, the European Council decided to grant Georgia candidate country status, on the understanding that the relevant steps set out in the Commission recommendation will be implemented. The Commission had assessed that Georgia has completed three priorities of 12 (gender equality and fighting violence against women, European Court of Human Rights judgments, appointing a Public Defender).
Georgia had also achieved some progress in seven other areas (political polarization, electoral framework, judicial reform, anti-corruption, organized crime, protection of human rights, civil society). There was limited progress on de-oligarchisation and no progress on media pluralism.
M. Apelblat
The Brussels Times
