Opposition in Georgia refuses to recognize election results

Tbilisi, Nov. 1, (dpa/GNA) – Georgia was facing a political crisis on Sunday after the opposition refused to recognize the results of parliamentary elections.

The head of the opposition Georgian Labour Party, Shalva Natelashvili, said in the capital, Tbilisi, that he would not recognize the election result and called for fresh elections.

The largest opposition party, the United National Movement, called for a demonstration on Sunday afternoon.

According to the Central Election Commission, the ruling Georgian Dream party was well out in front on 48.6 per cent on Sunday morning after the votes at 68 per cent of all polling stations were counted.

According to the interim results, the United National Movement was in second place on 26.9 per cent.

Georgian Dream won the two previous elections in 2012 and 2016.

The head of the ruling party, the multibillionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, said shortly after polling stations closed that his party had “won the elections for the third time in a row.”

More than 3.5 million people in the South Caucasus republic on the Black Sea were eligible to vote on Saturday. According to the election commission, the turnout was 56.1 per cent.

Voting was based on a new electoral system that had been demanded by the public during massive protests: 120 members were elected by proportional representation, while the rest were elected in constituencies according to the principle of majority voting. If the required majority is not achieved, there is a second round of voting.

The old electoral system was considered complicated.

GNA