Georgian opposition rejects election results, plans to unveil next steps at Tbilisi rally today

Four Georgian opposition parties and alliances that surpassed the five-percent election threshold in Saturday’s parliamentary elections have dismissed the results as “rigged” and announced plans to outline their course of action at a protest in Tbilisi on Monday.

President Salome Zourabichvili, who invited opposition leaders to her office on Sunday for post-election discussions, condemned the voting as “totally rigged” and expressed her intention to join the protests, which are set to start in the capital at 7pm. She also urged the public to support efforts to “defend your votes”.

According to final, preliminary results from the Central Election Commission, the ruling Georgian Dream party has secured 53.9 percent of the vote, followed by the Coalition for Change with 11 percent, Unity to Save Georgia with 10.1 percent, Strong Georgia with 8.8 percent, and Gakharia for Georgia with 7.7 percent.

Both the President and the opposition accuse the GD authorities of alleged voter bribery, pressuring of civil servants, manipulation of ID cards and “targeting” of those receiving social support.

The GD officials have rejected the accusations as “baseless” and pointed to findings by international observers, which they claimed have “validated the legitimacy” of the elections.