As soon as voting was over, Georgia Dream received 40.9% in an exit poll on an opposition TV channel, and the combined vote rate of the four opposition groups was 51.9%. But a poll on the large government-backed Imedi TV channel showed Georgian Dream at 56%.
Not long after, the National Election Commission released its first forecast. The CEC has been criticized for being too close to the government and for rushing electoral reform without sufficient consultation ahead of the elections.
If confirmed, this prospect would give Georgian Dream a majority in parliament, dashing the opposition’s hopes for security in the four-bloc coalition.
In Georgia’s new proportional representation system, whoever gets half the votes will get half of the 150 seats.
Bizina Ivanishvili, who made his fortune in Russia in the 1990s, told supporters: “It is rare in the world for the same party to achieve such success under such difficult circumstances.”
But opposition leaders had very different thoughts.
“We believe that the Georgian public has clearly voted for a future at the heart of Europe,” said Tina Bokuchava of the main opposition United National Movement. “No matter what stance we take, we will not be able to change that.” “It is,” he said.
“This is the moment. There may not be such a moment in the future,” opposition voter Levan Benize, 36, told the BBC. “I know there are a lot of geopolitical risks from Russia, but this could be a pivotal moment and a turning point.”
