Georgia's ruling party wins election over pro-EU opposition

Georgia's ruling party has won the country's general election, beating its pro-EU and pro-Western opposition. The Central Election Commission (CEC) said the ruling Dream party, which has been in power for 12 years, had won 54% of the vote with more than 99% of precincts counted. Both Georgian Dream and the opposition blocs trying to end its time in power portrayed the vote as an existential choice between moving towards the West - potentially by joining the European Union - or tightening ties with its regionally-dominant neighbour, Russia.

Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of Georgian Dream and a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia, has accused opposition parties of being "an agent of a foreign country that will only fulfil the tasks of a foreign country" - suggesting the West wants Georgia to go to war with Russia. He also pledged to ban all pro-Western opposition groups if the party won a constitutional majority. Mr Ivanishvili claimed victory almost immediately after polls closed, saying it was "rare in the world for the same party to achieve such success in such a difficult situation".



But the pro-Western Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who has regularly criticised Georgian Dream, was among the opposition leaders who also claimed victory when competing exit polls were released, with some putting the opposition ahead. Ms Zourabichvili earlier wrote on X that her bloc, European Georgia, had taken 52%, despite what she called "attempts to rigg (sic) elections". Pictures were also published of opposition leaders celebrating, confirming their early confidence.

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