The conflict between the pro-European opposition and the Georgian government, accused of seeking rapprochement with Russia, continues to rage even after the recent parliamentary elections. Both sides claimed victory based on exit polls with conflicting results. Later, the Central Election Commission released the first official data, which showed the ruling party, Georgian Dream, leading with 53% of the vote based on 69% of polling stations counted using a new electronic counting system.

Tensions in the country show no signs of abating in this context of 3.7 million inhabitants, located between Europe and Asia. Opposition forces have accused the government of having used state resources and mobilized civil servants to ensure its victory. In addition, several incidents were reported during the vote at polling stations. The judgement on the regularity of the electoral process is now awaited by observers from the OSCE-Odhir mission, who monitored about 2,000 of the 3,000 polling stations.

The tense atmosphere was evident in the statements from both sides after the exit polls were released. President Salome Zourabichvili, the leader of the anti-government opposition who will end her term in November, said that the opposing forces had prevailed: “European Georgia is winning with 52% despite all the attempts at fraud,” she said on X.

On the other hand, Georgian Dream also claimed victory. The party’s founder and former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili stressed that it is rare for a party to achieve such a victory in such a difficult situation. The ratings of the two camps reflect the first exit polls released after the vote.

According to an analysis conducted by the statistical institute Edison Research for the opposition television channel Formula, Georgian Dream would have obtained only 40.9% of the votes and won 67 out of 150 seats in the new parliament. In contrast, the various opposition parties would have totaled 51.9% of the votes and won 83 seats. The pro-government network Imedi instead reported results from an exit poll that gave Georgian Dream the lead with 56%.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban did not wait for the official results to congratulate his Georgian counterpart Irakli Kobakhidze, calling the election a “resounding victory.” “The Georgian people know what is best for their country and today they made their voices heard,” Orban wrote on X.

Georgia and Moldova represent significant frontiers in the challenge between Russia and the West in the context of the Ukrainian conflict. Georgian Dream has been in power since 2012 after ousting the United National Movement (UNM) led by former Prime Minister Mikheil Saakashvili and is accused by the opposition of having undertaken a clear shift towards Moscow; a tense relationship that worsened after