Georgia votes in key test for democracy, EU ambitions

The parliamentary election pits an unprecedented union of pro-Western opposition forces against the ruling Georgian Dream accused of stifling democracy and pivoting towards Moscow.

Brussels has warned that the vote will determine European Union-candidate Tbilisi's chances of joining the bloc.

Opinion polls in the country of four million indicate opposition parties could get enough votes to form a coalition to supplant Georgian Dream, controlled by powerful billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili.

"Of course, I have voted for Europe. Because I want to live in Europe, not in Russia. So, I voted for change," said Alexandre Guldani, an 18-year-old student.

Pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili said the vote would "determine Georgia's future", while the chair of the United National Movement opposition party, Tina Bokuchava, promised a "great day of national victory".

The Central Election Commission said it had received 133 reports of violations and Zurabishvili said there were "deeply troubling incidents of violence unfolding at various polling stations".

A video was circulated on social media showing a fistfight between dozens of unidentified men outside a polling station in suburban Tbilisi.

The opposition also shared videos of an alleged ballot stuffing incident in the south-eastern village of Sadakhlo.

"Bidzina Ivanishvili's thugs are desperate to cling onto power and will resort to anything to subvert the election process," Bokuchava said.

"They are stuffing ballot boxes, bullying voters and beating observers."

Mamuka Mdinaradze, a ruling party leader, rejected her claims as a "provocation" staged by the opposition, while the electoral commission nullified all the votes cast at that precinct.

Georgian Dream says it is confident it can win a commanding majority of the 150-seat parliament, calling for a "maximum mobilisation" of its supporters.


- 'Risk of post-electoral turmoil' -

Polls close at 1600 GMT, with exit polls to be issued soon afterwards. Preliminary results are expected to start coming in during the night.

Analyst Gela Vasadze at Georgia's Strategic Analysis Centre warned that "if the ruling party attempts to stay in power regardless of the election outcome, then there is the risk of post-electoral turmoil."

Georgian Dream says it wants to win a supermajority which will allow it to pass a constitutional ban on all major opposition parties.

In power since 2012, the party initially pursued a liberal pro-Western policy agenda. But over the last two years the party has reversed course.

Its campaign has centred on a conspiracy theory about a "global war party" that controls Western institutions and is seeking to drag Georgia into the Russia-Ukraine war.

In a country still scarred by Russia's 2008 invasion, the party has offered voters bogeyman stories about an imminent threat of war, which only Georgian Dream could prevent.

In a recent TV interview, Ivanishvili painted a grotesque image of the West where "orgies are taking place right in the streets".


- 'Crucial test for democracy' -

Georgian Dream's adoption of a controversial "foreign influence" law this spring targeting civil society sparked weeks of mass street protests and was criticised as a Kremlin-style measure to silence dissent.

The move prompted Brussels to freeze Georgia's EU accession process, while Washington imposed sanctions on dozens of Georgian officials.

The ruling party has also mounted a campaign against sexual minorities, following the recent adoption of measures that ban LGBTQ "propaganda", nullify same-sex marriages conducted abroad, and outlaw gender reassignment.

The Kremlin on Friday blasted "unprecedented attempts at Western interference" in the vote.

The latest polls show that the opposition is poised to garner enough ballots to take power.

The potential coalition grouping includes Georgia's main opposition force, jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili's United National Movement (UNM) and Akhali, a recently formed party headed by former UNM leaders.

Along with several smaller parties, they have signed up to a pro-European policy platform outlining far-reaching electoral, judicial and law enforcement reforms.

They have agreed to form an interim multi-party government to push through the reforms -- if they command enough seats in parliament -- before calling fresh elections.

A poll conducted by US pollster Edison Research shortly before the elections showed 34 percent of voters would back Georgian Dream, while the four opposition alliances combined are set to garner 53 percent of the vote.