Polling stations were closed in Georgia parliamentary elections, and the ruling party and the opposition declared victory.
Exit polls of rival parties show significantly different projections of the election results, reports Reuters. One poll showed the ruling party, which has recently turned to pro-Russian rhetoric, won comfortably, and two other polls showed the opposition would win a majority, according to Reuters.
The Georgian dream: Great success in the next term
The President of Georgia's Central Election Commission, Giorgi Kalandarshvili, announced today that the ruling party in that country, Georgian Dream, won 54,08 percent of the votes in the parliamentary elections.
According to him, data from 3.100 polling stations out of a total of 3.111 were processed.
On the other hand, according to exit polls published by the pro-opposition channels Formula and Mtavari Arkhi, the opposition pro-Western parties could win 150 seats in parliament.
In addition to these, the Coalition for Change with 10,92 percent of the votes, the United National Movement with 10,12 percent, Strong Georgia with 8,72 percent and For Georgia with 7,76 percent of the votes passed the census.
The leader of the Georgian Dream party, Mamuka Mdinaradze, said that the party won the parliamentary majority, gaining about 90 mandates.
Former prime minister, billionaire and founder of the ruling party Bidzina Ivanishvili declared victory. "I assure you, our country will achieve great success in the next four years," Ivanishvili said.
The ruling Georgian Dream advocates better relations with Russia, while the four largest opposition parties are pro-European.
Opposition: The elections were stolen, we do not recognize the results
At the same time, the opposition declared victory, announcing that it is on its way to winning the majority, while the first results are expected soon.
"European Georgia wins with 52 percent despite attempts to rig the election and without diaspora votes," President Salome Zourabichvili said on the X network.
The Coalition for Change announced on Saturday night after the Central Election Commission declared the victory of Georgian Dream, that it would not recognize the election results and announced the start of street protests.
The Formula exit poll showed that the ruling party will be the single largest party, but that the four main opposition parties will together have 83 mandates.
The four main opposition blocs in Georgia are deeply divided and potential cooperation remains uncertain, according to the British agency, Tanjug reports.
Source: Politics