Ruling Georgian Dream Party Wins the Elections, Preliminary Results Say

Founder of the Georgian Dream party and oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili waves after exit poll results announcement in parliamentary elections, during celebrations at the Georgian Dream party headquarters in Tbilisi,Georgia. Photo: EFE/EPA/DAVID MDZINARISHVILI

October 26, 2024 Hour: 2:04 pm

The ruling Georgian Dream party won an absolute majority in Georgia’s parliamentary elections on Saturday with 53% of the vote, according to the first results on the 70 per cent of polling stations, for a total of 2,176, reported the Central Electoral Commission (CEC).

The opposition blocs Coalition for Change, with 11.2%, Unity, with 9.8%, Georgia Strong, with 9.04%, and Gajaria, with 8.2%, are followed by Georgia, where the four opposition blocs enter Parliament after having passed the 5% threshold.

The four opposition coalitions, Unity, Coalition for Change, Georgia Strong and Gajaria for Georgia, had agreed to form a technical government in case Georgian Dream did not achieve a parliamentary majority, a possibility that fades in the face of the trend of the results of the vote.

In Tbilisi, fireworks mark the ruling party's victory. With over 56% voter turnout, initial CEC data shows "Georgian Dream" leading with 53%, aiming for 90 out of 150 seats. This result, opposing U.S.-backed opposition, signals a setback for U.S. policy in Georgia.#Georgia #USA pic.twitter.com/dpUW2Oxch0
— Chronology (@Chronology22) October 26, 2024

The elections, which were attended by over 1,700 foreign observers from 76 international agencies and more than 23,000 local observers from 111 national organizations, took place in relative calm, although there were several altercations.

Georgian Dream was established by the billionaire oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili in 2012 and had initially been perceived as a pro-European party but in recent years the party has shown signs that it is moving closer to Moscow.

The main innovations of these elections are that for the first time seats will be distributed solely on the basis of the proportional system and that about 90% of voters will have the possibility to exercise electronic voting.