Georgia votes in high-stakes election affecting EU membership ambitions
Al Jazeera
An alliance of pro-Western opposition parties is challenging the ruling pro-Russian Georgian Dream.
Voting is under way in Georgia’s parliamentary elections that could shape the future of the country’s young democracy and its European ambitions.
Saturday’s vote will see an unprecedented alliance of pro-Western opposition parties challenging the governing Georgian Dream party, which has faced criticism for stifling democracy and drifting towards Russia.
The European Union has warned that the election will determine the country’s chances of joining the 27-nation bloc. Polls suggest most Georgians favour joining the EU, but accession talks were frozen after Georgian Dream passed a law cracking down on freedom of speech in June.
Polls opened at 8am (04:00 GMT) and are set to close 12 hours later, with some 3.5 million Georgians eligible to cast ballots.
Opinion polls indicate opposition parties could get enough votes to form a coalition to supplant Georgian Dream, controlled by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who set up the party and made his fortune in Russia.
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