2 weeks Ago By France 24
Elections in Georgia on Saturday will pit pro-Western opposition forces against a ruling party that is increasingly under Russian influence. While polls indicate that opposition parties may be able to form a winning coalition, experts fear that the ruling party may attempt to cling to power. Georgians vote on Saturday in watershed elections, with a union of pro-Western opposition forces facing off against a ruling party accused of democratic backsliding and shifting towards .
Brussels has warned the October 26 vote will be crucial for the fate of 's fledgling democracy and its long-held aspiration for membership. Opinion polls indicate opposition parties could get enough votes to form a coalition government to supplant the ruling Georgian Dream party, controlled by powerful billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili. The current government says it wants to win a supermajority in parliament to allow it to pass a constitutional ban on the pro-Western opposition.
"Georgia's traditionally fractured opposition forces have managed to forge an unprecedented united front against Georgian Dream," said analyst Gela Vasadze at Georgia's Strategic Analysis Centre. "But if the ruling party attempts to stay in power regardless of the election outcome, then there is the risk of post-electoral turmoil." He called the upcoming polls "a crucial test for democracy in Georgia and its European Union path".
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