American sociologist Edison believes that the Georgia election results indicate “manipulation”

TBILISI – US data and polling firm Edison Research said on Friday that differences between an exit poll of Georgia’s parliamentary elections and official results indicate vote “manipulation”, becoming the second such pollster to do so.

Georgia’s election commission said the ruling Georgian Dream party, believed to be controlled by billionaire founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, won with 54% of the vote. Opposition parties and the president called this result falsification.

Opposition parties announced a protest on Monday against the election results.

The US company said in a statement: “The 13-point difference between Edison’s estimate and the official Georgian Dream result of 54% cannot be explained by normal variations alone and suggests vote manipulation at the local level.”

It added: “The Edison review found that deviation from statistically expected results was widespread but most pronounced in certain rural voting areas.”

These sites were likely subject to significant voting manipulation, it added.

Georgian Dream performed poorly in large cities, but in some rural areas its profitability reached 90%.

Georgian Dream and the election commission did not immediately comment on the pollsters’ statements, but both have repeatedly stated that the elections were free and fair.

The elections, widely seen as key for Georgia, presented a choice between further European integration under the pro-Western opposition or closer ties with Moscow under a ruling party that critics say is becoming increasingly authoritarian.

Edison’s exit poll, commissioned by the pro-opposition Formula TV channel, showed that Georgia’s four main opposition parties are seeking a majority in the elections.

On Thursday, HarrisX, another US-based research house that conducted a separate exit poll for opposition TV channel Mtavari Arkhi, said the official results were “statistically impossible”.

Opposition parties have repeatedly pointed to two exit polls that showed Georgian Dream with less than 45% of the vote as evidence the election was rigged.

The third exit poll, conducted by the Georgian polling service GORBI for the pro-government Imedi TV channel, showed that Georgian Dream won with 56%.

Observer groups including the 57-nation Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said irregularities such as ballot fraud, voter intimidation and bribery could have affected the election results, but stopped short of saying that it was revealing. stolen.

Western countries have called for an investigation into the violations, and Russia has accused them of interfering in Georgian affairs. REUTERS