In this photo taken from video released by TV Pirveli on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, an opposition representative splashes black paint on the face of Giorgi Kalandarishvili, the chairman of the Central Election Commission, before the results of Parliamentary elections were announced in Tbilisi, Georgia.
| Photo Credit: AP

The head of Georgia’s Central Electoral Commission was doused with black paint Saturday (November 16, 2024) at a meeting to confirm the results of the country’s divisive October 26 parliamentary elections.

Protesters gathered outside the commission’s building in Tbilisi, where officials announced that the ruling Georgian Dream party had won 53.93% of the vote.

Opposition supporters have rejected the results amid allegations that the vote was rigged, an accusation that Georgian Dream denies.

The Saturday session was interrupted when David Kirtadze, a commission member from the opposition United National Movement party, threw black paint at commission chairman Giorgi Kalandarishvili.

Before the incident, Mr. Kirtadze told Kalandarishvili that the official results of the vote did not reflect voters’ “true choice.”

Mr. Kalandarishvili responded by saying that the use of “pressure, bullying and personal insults” proved that there was no evidence of vote rigging.

When the meeting resumed, Mr. Kalandarishvili was seen with a bandaged eye.

“It once again becomes evident that there is no tangible proof indicating that the elections were manipulated,” he told the audience.

European election observers have described the Georgian parliamentary elections as taking place in a “divisive” atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence.

Many Georgians viewed the vote as a pivotal referendum on the country’s effort to join the European Union. The bloc suspended Georgia’s membership application process indefinitely in June after the country’s parliament passed a “foreign influence law” that critics say mimics Moscow’s crackdown on civil society.

Critics have accused the ruling Georgian Dream, established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia, of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow. It has recently adopted laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.

President Salome Zourabichvili, who has rejected the official results, says Georgia has fallen victim to pressure from Moscow against joining the European Union.

Mr. Zourabichvili, who holds a mostly ceremonial position, has urged the United States and EU to support the demonstrations.

Officials in Washington and Brussels have urged a full investigation of the election, while the Kremlin has rejected the accusations of interference.

Georgian oligarch and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili gives a speech during a gathering at the party’s headquarters after exit polls were announced during parliamentary elections in Tbilisi on October 26, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Georgia’s Central Election Commission said Saturday the ruling Georgian Dream party won 52.99% of the vote after the parliamentary election in the South Caucasus country.

The CEC said the announcement was preliminary after 97% of the electronic vote was counted. Georgians voted inside the country electronically, and using paper ballots.

Not all votes cast by Georgians abroad have been counted. Earlier Saturday, opposition parties claimed victory.

If Georgian Dream wins a parliamentary majority, it will stoke fears about the country’s bid for EU membership which was put on hold earlier this year by Brussels after the ruling party passed laws cracking down on freedom of speech.