Georgia president: Country was victim of Russian ‘special operation’ in election

Georgia’s president Salome Zourabichvili has said the country was the victim of a Russian “special operation” as she stood alongside Georgia’s opposition to say she did not recognise the results of the vote.

She called on Georgians to come out at 7pm local time on Monday on the main street in the capital to protest against the result, which she said was a “total falsification, total stealing of your votes”.

She spoke the day after an election which could decide Georgia’s place in Europe.

The Central Election Commission said on Sunday that the ruling party, Georgian Dream, got almost 55% of the vote with almost 100% of ballots counted.

European electoral observers said the election took place in a “divisive” environment marked by intimidation and instances of physical violence which undermined the outcome of the vote.

Following a divisive pre-election campaign, initial figures suggest turnout was the highest since the ruling party was first elected in 2012.

Monitoring officials from the Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe said they had multiple concerns about the conduct of the election, including vote buying, double voting, physical violence and intimidation.

Georgian Dream used hostile rhetoric, “promoted Russian disinformation” and conspiracy theories ahead of the election in an attempt to “undermine and manipulate the vote”, said Antonio Lopez-Isturiz White, the head of the European Parliament monitoring delegation.