CIVICUS discusses Georgia’s election results with Eduard Marikashvili, human rights defender and executive director of the Georgian Democracy Initiative (GDI), an independent organisation working for democratic development and Euro-Atlantic integration.

Thousands protested in the capital Tbilisi on 28 October following the announcement of parliamentary election results widely seen as fraudulent in favour of the ruling Georgian Dream party. According to preliminary official results, the pro-Russian party won 54 per cent of the vote, with opposition pro-western parties winning 38 per cent. International observers reported numerous cases of voter intimidation and ballot stuffing. Independent President Salome Zourabichvili joined the opposition in denouncing widespread irregularities, which she likened to a Russian special operation. The European Union has called for further investigations into possible election interference.

What were your expectations going into the election?

We didn’t expect an easy victory for the opposition. We expected that Georgian Dream, together with the oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, would manipulate the electoral process to maintain their grip on power. We were prepared for a crisis, with increasing restrictions on civic space and a decline in human rights protection.

But the sheer scale of electoral manipulation and vote-rigging took us by surprise. National and international observers did not recognise the election as free and fair, and no western government has acknowledged the legitimacy of the results.

What violations of did civil society monitors document?

Civil society and the media provided extensive documentation of intimidation and bribery. This was observed before and on election day, particularly in rural areas where party coordinators gathered near polling stations and gave money to voters.

The ruling party also tried to instil fear in the public with narratives suggesting that voting for the opposition was a choice for war and instability, while voting for Georgian Dream was a choice for peace and order.

Another major problem was the violation of the secrecy of the ballot, which is enshrined in the constitution and the Electoral Code. Ballot papers were so thin that marks indicating a voter’s choice were visible on the other side, allowing them to be seen when the ballot paper was fed into the vote-counting machine. A judge in the municipality of Tetritskaro decided to annul the results in 30 precincts on this basis. This should have set a precedent, but instead a higher court overturned this exception and ruled that the violation of the secrecy of the vote was a non-issue.

How have the political opposition and civil society reacted to the announced results?

Civil society and the opposition have strongly contested the announced results because they believe the election was rigged and stolen.

President Zourabichvili has pointed to Russia having mounted a ‘special election’ to subvert our election and said she wouldn’t recognise the results because that would be tantamount to accepting Georgia’s subservience to Russia. While we don’t yet have proof of Russian interference in the election, Russia’s support for the government was visible during the pre-election period, and its political and ideological backing has weakened Georgian democracy.

Civil society is actively working on several fronts, including through legal action, to gather and submit evidence of electoral fraud.

What needs to happen to restore electoral integrity and trust in the electoral process?

The government’s approach to the election seemed designed to undermine public confidence in the electoral process and make people feel that change through elections is impossible. To restore trust, these election results should not be accepted and recognised, and new elections should be held with a more reliable system and electoral administration. An independent investigation of the election results would also be a crucial step.

In addition, Georgian civil society urgently needs strong, reliable and consistent support from the international community to withstand the current crisis and an increasingly repressive environment. This would help avoid a situation similar to that in Belarus, where civil society was effectively eliminated under authoritarian rule.