Friday, November 22, 2024

What an MP and EU observer saw happen in Georgia’s elections

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Little consensus has emerged after Georgia’s elections, in which the ruling Georgian Dream declared themselves victors after gaining a majority. The opposition, bolstered by Western observers, claim the elections were unfair.

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On Saturday, Georgia held parliamentary elections that were framed by both the ruling party and the opposition in stark terms: a choice between “war or peace” on the one hand and “Europe or Russia” on the other.

The ruling Georgian Dream declared itself victorious after the country’s electoral commission said it had won 53.92 % of the votes, a comfortable majority.

Opposition parties have bitterly disputed the results, some of which have claimed the vote was manipulated.

Their concerns have been stood up by a group of Western observers, who raised concerns of a tense and pressured voting climate, voter intimidations and other irregularities.

Euronews spoke with different sides, including Maka Botchorishvili, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party and Reinhold Lopatka, an Austrian MEP and one of the election observers from the European parliament.

Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Maïa de la Baume, with journalist and production assistant Eleonora Vasques, audio editing by Zacharia Vigneron. Music by Alexandre Jas.

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