The President of Georgia hinted at falsification of voting results with the help of Russia in an interview with AFP

Pro-European Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said in an interview with AFP on Monday that the parliamentary elections, the results of which were rejected by the opposition, were marred by widespread voter fraud with signs of Russian influence.

The ruling Georgian Dream party won 53.92 percent of the vote in Saturday’s election, compared with 37.78 percent received by a coalition of pro-Western opposition alliances, according to near-final results announced by the election commission.

The opposition said the vote was unfair and refused to concede defeat to the party, which it accuses of pro-Kremlin authoritarianism.

Moscow has rejected opposition claims of election interference.

But Zurabishvili, who plays a nominal role in Georgian politics, declared the announced results “illegitimate” and pointed the finger at the Caucasian country’s former Soviet master.

Speaking to AFP, the head of state said “quite sophisticated” fraudulent schemes were used in the weekend vote – with a greater level of planning than the government seemed able to achieve to stay in power.

This appears to demonstrate “Russian methodology,” which she said is not surprising “given the relationship between the ruling party and Russia.”

She stated that “Georgian Dream’s election propaganda was completely copied from Russian propaganda” and “they have PR people… who came from Russia.”

“It’s very difficult to blame the government, and that’s not my role, but the methodology is Russian,” she said.

– Counting “Stalinist” ballots –

In addition, she said, the voting used “methods related to” electronic voting technology first used in Georgia.

ID cards with the same number were used to register “up to 17, 20 votes in different regions,” she added.

The president said more “classic methods” of rigging elections were also used, including “buying votes, pressure, in particular, on government officials, pressure on the families of prisoners who may be promised release.”

“Money was distributed prominently in minibuses outside polling stations,” she said.

Zurabishvili also pointed to the seemingly incredible results of voting for the ruling party in areas with significant ethnic minority populations, such as the Azeri-majority city of Marneuli.

“In some towns and villages where ethnic minorities live, the results were 97 percent” in favor of Georgian Dream, she said.

“I don’t think we’ve seen anything like this since Stalinism.”

– “Theft of our future” –

Thousands of people took to the streets of the capital Tbilisi on Monday evening in response to calls from the opposition to protest against a “stolen election” – a call Zurabishvili urged Georgians to heed.

“People know very well that we should not jeopardize the stability of the country. But this does not mean that we should calm down and accept this theft,” the president said.

“This is not only the theft of our voice… it is the theft of our future in Europe,” she added.

According to Georgia’s constitution, the country officially seeks to join the EU and the US-led NATO defense alliance.

But after passing a Kremlin-copycat “foreign influence” law that was used to stifle dissent, Brussels froze Georgia’s EU accession process and the United States imposed sanctions on several Georgian officials.

Three weeks before the election, the Georgian Dream party also passed legislation severely restricting the rights of the LGBT community, with hostility towards alternative sexualities still running strong in the deeply Orthodox Christian country.

– “Threatening” Russia –

Zurabishvili said that Georgia would be able to return to the path of EU membership only “if the policy changes.”

She called on authorities to show “a clear will to acknowledge some of the fraud, to enact and immediately promise or implement the repeal of the foreign agent and LGBTIQ laws.”

“There are several laws that are turning this country into a Russian-style regime.”

A former member of the USSR located on the Black Sea, Georgia still bears the scars of a short war with Russia in 2008.

Moscow then established military bases in Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and recognized their unilateral declaration of independence.

The ruling party advocates improved relations with Moscow, raising the specter of “Ukrainization” of Georgia and new hostilities with Kremlin troops.

According to Zurabishvili, the government is making a serious mistake, not least considering Russia’s role as the “aggressor” of Ukraine.

“Until Russia returns to the path of international norms and standards, it will be difficult to deal with it. It is a threat,” the president warned.

“And I think the population here understands that very well.”

RKO/Alf/SBK/GIV