Georgia President Salome Zurabishvili and opposition parties questioned the results of the country’s parliamentary election on Saturday. The pro-Russia party Georgia Dream (GD) was declared as the winner, with opponents labelling the election illegitimate amid criticism from international observers and allegations of violence, voter intimidation, breach of vote secrecy, and obstruction of observers.

The International Election Observation Mission’s preliminary report, led by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, stated that while the election was well-organized procedurally, it was impacted by irregularities on election day. The mission reported voter intimidation at six percent of polling stations, while vote secrecy appeared compromised at 24 percent. Unidentified individuals were seen tracking voters at 10 percent of stations. Representatives from GD observed the vote at most polling stations, which the OSCE described as having an “intimidating effect.”

Senior representatives from parliaments across Europe and Canada announced that they would not recognize the election’s legitimacy. Both the EU and the US Department of State urged an investigation into the irregularities .

Nikoloz Samkharadze, chair of the Foreign Relations Committee of Georgia’s Parliament, accused the EU and Canada of “discrediting democratic elections,” and “undermin[ing] [the] credibility of the OSCE observation mission by spreading disinformation.”

During the election campaign, the OSCE reported isolated incidents of violence and intimidation against opposition parties. The mission was also critical of the government’s decision to pass a large number of sweeping laws right before the election with little public consultation.

This was the first election since Georgia was granted EU candidacy status, although it had this status suspended in July for its passing of a controversial “foreign agent” law. The relationship between Georgia and the EU further deteriorated due to a law Georgia recently passed that restricts the rights of LGBTQ+ people.

The victory of GD will likely result in Georgia establishing closer ties with neighboring Russia.