Georgian Opposition Declares Constitutional Coup

• 27.10.2024, 8:52

Two parties refuse to enter parliament.

The Georgian opposition does not recognize the results of the parliamentary elections, according to which the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party wins.

Two Georgian opposition political forces — the United National Movement and the Coalition for Changes — declared following the parliamentary elections that the ruling Georgian Dream party carried out a constitutional coup, and are refusing to enter parliament, despite overcoming the five percent barrier.

The leaders of these parties said that their representatives do not intend to receive mandates. Caucasian Bureau reports that the Georgian opposition is preparing to hold a large protest in Tbilisi on Sunday. An emergency statement is being prepared tonight, and inter-party consultations are underway.

According to Tbilisi Life, at some polling stations, votes for Georgian Dream are being counted even on crossed-out ballots, explaining that the line falls on the circle next to number 41.

“The opposition does not recognize the results of the past elections due to a large number of violations, and announces protests on the streets,” the public writes.

Meanwhile, the Central Election Commission of Georgia has begun publishing manually recounted votes: after counting data from 97% of polling stations, Georgian Dream is gaining more than 54%.