Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 31 October 2020, elections were held to the parliament of Georgia of the 10th convocation, elected for four years. During the elections, 120 out of 150 seats were elected by party lists, and 30 by majoritarian constituencies.

I. The importance of the parliamentary elections in Georgia is due to the fact that a party that receives more than 40% of the votes will be able to independently form the government. The struggle was fought by 48 parties and two political blocs.

According to the country’s CEC, the voter turnout was 56.11% (more than 1.9 million voters). According to preliminary data, as of 1 November, after processing votes from 94% of polling stations, the party in power "Georgian Dream" is gaining 48% of the votes.

About 3.5 million people are registered in the elections in Georgia and 14,000 people abroad. Voting took place at 3,907 precincts, including 127 special stages for patients with COVID-19 and 55 stations abroad.

The opposition bloc Strength in Unity has 27% of the vote. "European Georgia - Freedom Movement" and the pro-Russian party "Alliance of Patriots" received more than 3% of the votes.

The parties "Girchi", "Lelo", the "Strategy of Agmashenebeli" bloc, "Labor" and "Citizens" also enter the parliament.

In addition, the second round of elections is to be held in 15 single-member constituencies. The final results will be announced no later than 19 days after voting day.

II. The electoral processes were followed by 80,000 representatives of electoral subjects, 132 local organizations and 910 observers from five electoral administrations, as well as 20 embassies and 23 international organizations, including delegations of the OSCE PA, OSCE / ODIHR, CIS, Council of Europe PA, NATO PA and representatives of the Venice commission. The elections were covered by 118 local media outlets, about 6 thousand journalists.

On 1 November, at a briefing with preliminary findings and conclusions of the OSCE / ODIHR, it was noted that due to the conditions of the pandemic, the members of the mission could not observe the elections systematically and comprehensively, having visited a limited number of polling stations in 28 out of 64 municipalities.

According to the observations of the OSCE / ODIHR mission, the voting process at the polling stations was transparent, the procedures were generally followed. Preventive measures were taken against COVID-19, but they were not strictly enforced.

The conclusion was that the parliamentary elections on 31 October were competitive and, in general, fundamental freedoms were observed.

The main shortcomings were widespread accusations of pressure on voters and blurring the boundaries between the ruling party and state bodies, which diminished public confidence in some aspects of the electoral process.

A strong political polarization of society was noted through a diverse and pluralistic media. There was also a lack of analytical accountability and policy debate, which limited voters’ ability to fully make informed choices.

III. After the announcement of the preliminary results of the voting, the leader of the "Georgian Dream" politician and businessman B. Ivanishvili, one of the 200 richest people in the world, announced the victory of his party.

He stressed that “the country needs a close-knit team - and we have it. Georgian voters very quickly, with common sense, learned to distinguish and analyze - it took the Europeans much more time. "

At the same time, after the announcement of the preliminary results of the elections, the opposition parties called them illegitimate, declaring total falsification, and called on their supporters to gather in the center of Tbilisi for a protest.

The opposition bloc, which also includes the party of ex-President M. Saakashvili, announced its own victory the day before, announcing serious violations during the voting. Some opposition figures even called the elections "farce" and "attempted coup."

In general, despite the opposition’s calls, experts point to the legitimacy of the election results in Georgia. During the current campaign, the main defining moments were: 1) the popular actions of the ruling party in the context of a pandemic; 2) the fragmentation of the opposition, which was unable to consolidate and lure the undecided electorate over to its side. At the same time, opposition forces disagreeing with the election results will try to organize protests, which are likely to be local in nature and will not cause drastic changes in the country’s political field.