The United States and the European Union has called for a full investigation into reports of violations in the Georgian election where the president called for protests on Monday following the disputed parliamentary vote.
The final results had delivered a heavy blow for pro-Western Georgians who had cast the election as a choice between a ruling party that has deepened ties with Russia and an opposition aiming to fast-track integration with Europe.
President Salome Zourabichvili had encouraged citizens to take to the streets to protest against the results of Saturday’s disputed parliamentary election, after the electoral commission had announced the ruling party as the winner.
The ruling Georgian Dream party, which Zourabichvili fiercely criticizes had gotten almost 54% of the vote, according to the commission. But opposition parties had contested the outcome citing vote monitors that reported significant violations.
On Sunday, Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State said the United States had joined other election observers to demand a full probe.
This was after the European Union urged Georgia to swiftly and transparently investigate the alleged irregularities in the vote.
Zourabichvili, a former Georgian Dream ally who won the 2018 presidential vote as an independent, had encouraged Georgians to protest in the centre of the capital, Tbilisi, on Monday evening, to show the world “that we do not recognise these elections”.
For many years, Georgia was one of the most pro-Western countries to emerge from the Soviet Union, with polls revealing the dislike many Georgians had for Russia for its support of two breakaway regions of their country.
This election result poses a challenge to the EU’s ambition to expand by bringing in more former Soviet states.
