With such high stakes, voting kicked off in a tense environment.
Election observers, such as ISFED, have reported three alleged cases of vote-buying, and local media outlets have reported an incident involving a physical confrontation at one of the polling stations. According to local publication Publika, an opposition activist was beaten.
A video circulating online shows a man, identified as a ruling party representative, stuffing a ballot box with dozens of ballots at one of the polling stations in Marneuli in southern Georgia.
The country’s Central Election Commission reported voter turnout at 9.27 percent as of 10 a.m. Tbilisi time.
“I’m confident the majority of the population will choose a European future for Georgia,” said opposition United National Movement party leader Tina Bokuchava after casting her vote.
The founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, used the moment to describe the opposition as “warmongers,” aiming to drag Georgia into war with Russia.
