Georgia president calls for protests as opposition complains about election – POLITICO

The election is widely seen as crucial for Georgia's prospects of joining the European Union. Critics criticized the government's increasingly authoritarian course and close relations with Russia.

Georgia's EU membership prospects stalled after the Georgian government passed a controversial Russian-style “foreign agent” law, despite warnings it could jeopardize Georgia's membership efforts.

In the run-up to the election, the ruling party had also promised to ban virtually all opposition parties and passed a series of Russian laws that branded Western-backed human rights groups and media outlets as “foreign agents” and banned public references to the LGBTQ+ community.

More than a dozen European and Canadian politicians, including the chairs of parliamentary foreign affairs committees in Germany, Lithuania, Ireland and Ukraine, signed a joint statement saying the vote was “neither free nor fair.” “Against this background, the European Union cannot recognize the result,” it says.

However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán quickly congratulated Georgian Prime Minister Iraqi Kobakhidze and the Georgian Dream party “on their overwhelming victory in the parliamentary elections.” Orbán will visit Tbilisi on October 28, the Georgian government announced, a move likely to anger EU leaders.

European Council President Charles Michel condemned the alleged intimidation and interference, saying: “These alleged irregularities must be seriously investigated and addressed.”