LAST UPDATE | 26 Oct

GEORGIA’S RULING PARTY have claimed an outright victory in today’s parliamentary elections after early results showed it was set to beat a union of pro-Western opposition forces.

“As the results released by central election commission show, Georgian Dream has secured a solid majority” in the new parliament, the ruling party’s executive secretary, Mamuka Mdinaradze, told journalists.

It comes as an exit poll earlier put four pro-Western opposition groups which have agreed to form a coalition as having received 51.9 percent of the vote. 

The ruling Georgian Dream party, accused by critics of stifling democracy and drifting increasingly towards Moscow, was predicted to win 40.9 percent of the vote, according to the survey published after polls closed.

The pre-election campaign in the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million people has been dominated by foreign policy and marked by a bitter fight for votes and allegations of a smear campaign.

Some Georgians complained of intimidation and being pressured to vote for the ruling party, Georgian Dream, while the opposition accused the party of carrying out a “hybrid war” against its citizens.

Ahead of the parliamentary election, Bidzina Ivanishvili – a shadowy billionaire who set up Georgian Dream and made his fortune in Russia – vowed again to ban opposition parties should his party win.

Georgian Dream will hold opposition parties “fully accountable under the full force of the law” for “war crimes” committed against the people of Georgia, Ivanishvili said at a pro-government rally in the capital Tbilisi on Wednesday.

He did not explain what crimes he believes the opposition has committed.

Georgians will elect 150 lawmakers from 18 parties. If no party wins the 76 seats required to form a government for a four-year term, the president will invite the largest party to form a coalition.

Many believe the election may be the most crucial vote of their lifetimes; it will determine whether Georgia gets back on track to EU membership or embraces authoritarianism and falls into Russia’s orbit.

“It’s an existential election,” the Georgian president, Salome Zourabichvili, said.

About 80% of Georgians favour joining the EU according to polls and the country’s constitution obliges its leaders to pursue membership in that bloc and NATO.

But Brussels put Georgia’s bid for entry to the EU on hold indefinitely after the ruling party passed a “Russian law” cracking down on freedom of speech in June.

Many Georgians fear the party is dragging the country towards authoritarianism and killing off hopes it could join the EU.

The opposition parties have ignored Zourabichvili’s request to unite into a single party but have signed up to her “charter” to carry out the reforms required by the EU to join.

At the EU summit last week, EU leaders said they have “serious concerns regarding the course of action taken by the Georgian government”.

Polls opened in the parliamentary election at 8am local time and will close 12 hours later.

Georgian Dream stands against three coalitions: the Unity National Movement, the Coalition for Changes Lelo, and Strong Georgia.

The Gakharia for Georgia party, set up by former prime minister Giorgi Gakharia, said it will not go into an alliance with anyone but will support the opposition to form a government.

Includes reporting by AFP.