'We call for full probe': US on Georgia elections as pro-Russia party declares victory

The United States has called for an investigation into allegations of voter fraud and other election malpractices in Georgia.

In the Saturday’s elections in Georgia, the ruling pro-Russia Georgia Dream (GD) party declared victory. The pro-Europe and pro-West Opposition parties have rejected the GD’s declaration.

In a statement on Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged the atmosphere of intimidation that the GD had built in Georgia ahead of the election and the observers’ reports of the ruling party deploying unfair means to grab votes.

International and local observers noted a pre-election environment marked by the ruling party’s misuse of public resources, vote buying, and voter intimidation, all of which contributed to an uneven playing field and undermined public and international trust in the possibility of a fair outcome, said Blinken.

Even though the election was administered well, there were allegations of wrongdoings in other spheres and such allegations, said Blinken.

Noting that the observers have not held the elections as free and fair, Blinken condemned all violations of norms and called for a probe.

“While international and local observers agreed that Election Day was generally well administered, we note reports of irregularities and sporadic violence. International observers have not declared the result to be free and fair. We condemn all contraventions of international norms and join calls from international and local observers for a full investigation of all reports of election-related violations,” said Blinken.

The Georgian elections had become the latest instance of domestic affairs of a country turning into a contest between Russia and West. While the GD party is effectively a Russia’s proxy and blatantly anti-West, the Opposition bloc United National Movement (UNM) party is pro-West and pro-European Union (EU). Georgia’s accession to the EU had already been stuck and is now expected to collapse under the continued rule of the GD as the pro-Russia party is effectively against EU.

Even though the GD claims to be an independent party, it has adopted the Russian playbook against critics and the West and has also repeated Russia’s playbook since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The GD regime has brought in a ‘foreign agent law’ and another anti-LGBTQ+ law. It has also blamed the West’s LGBTQ+ agenda for just like Russian leader Vladimir Putin does.

Under the GD regime, Georgia has also built closer strategic partnerships with principal ally Russia and key partner Iran. The development comes at a time when Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea have built a bloc against the West and are roping in developing countries into the bloc to undermine the West and build a new authoritarian world order against the democratic West.

In his statement, Blinken referred to the foreign agent law and called for its repeal and asserted for the importance of nation’s relationships with Europe and the United States.

Blinken said, “Going forward, we encourage Georgia’s political leaders to respect the rule of law, repeal legislation that undermines fundamental freedoms, and address deficiencies in the electoral process together. Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration goals, enshrined in the country’s constitution, require that the government respect the rights of members of civil society and the fundamental freedoms of all Georgian citizens.”

Blinken is the latest Western leader to join calls for a relook of election results. Previously, European leaders have flagged the concerns regarding the elections and have called for a probe.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement that the International Election Observation Mission led by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) found that elections were marred by “tense environment, with frequent compromises in vote secrecy and several procedural inconsistencies, as well as reports of intimidation and pressure on voters that negatively impacted public trust in the process”.

There was grave pressure on voters, particularly among the government employees, and this coupled with extensive tracking of voters on election day, raised concerns about the ability of some voters to cast their vote without fear of retribution, said Borrel.

“Moreover, election observers report an uneven level playing field, a divisive campaign in polarised atmosphere and significant concerns over the impact of recent legislative amendments on this election process,” said Borrel.

Separately, EU parliament’s monitors’ chief Antonio Lopez-Isturiz White said that that the GD used anti-Western and hostile rhetoric and “promoted Russian misinformation, manipulations, and conspiracy theories”.

Following the contested result, which are certain to push the nation into Russia-China combine’s bloc even further, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has refused to recognise the results and has called for protests. She said the results would mean “legitimising Russia’s takeover of Georgia” and they could not simply surrender the nation to Russia.

In previous referendums, more than 80 per cent Georgians have voted to join the EU and have shown pro-West tendencies. Large chunks of Georgian population have deep disgust for Russia, particularly since 2008 when Russia invaded Ukraine in a unilateral war and occupied territory. Since then, Russia has continued to illegally occupy up to 20 per cent of Georgian land.