Georgia’s most powerful man claimed victory in an election on Saturday, but the opposition said he had won and called on the ruling party to concede defeat, setting the stage for a showdown over the future of the South Caucasus country.

Georgian Dream’s billionaire founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, the opposition and foreign diplomats have touted the election as a watershed moment that would decide whether Georgia moves closer to the West or tilts back toward Russia amid the war in Ukraine.

Rival polls gave radically different predictions for the election. An exit poll by the Imedi TV channel, which supports Georgian Dream, showed the ruling party winning 56 percent.

But exit polls by pro-opposition channels Formula and Mtavari Arkhi showed major gains for pro-Western opposition parties, which they suggested could together form a majority in the 150-seat parliament, albeit deeply divided.

Ivanishvili, the ruling party’s billionaire founder and former prime minister, claimed victory.

“It is a rare case in the world for the same party to achieve such success in such a difficult situation – this is a good indicator of the talent of the Georgian people,” Ivanishvili said just minutes after the polls closed.

“I assure you that our country will achieve great success in the next four years,” Ivanishvili said. Early results were due soon, and more complete results should be announced within hours.

But the opposition also celebrated the victory and said Ivanishvili should step down.

Tina Bokuchava, leader of former president Mihail Saakashvili’s United National Movement party, told Reuters the opposition had won by a good margin of 10 percent.

“In this context, most people will take Bidzina Ivanishvili’s claims of a government majority with a grain of salt,” Bokuchava said.

“We believe the Georgian public has clearly voted for a future at the heart of Europe and no position will change that.”

CRUCIAL VOTE

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili – a former ally of the ruling party turned fierce critic whose powers are largely ceremonial – and independent internal election observers have alleged that Georgian Dream was involved in large-scale vote-buying and other forms of electoral abuse in the preceding period. to vote.

Georgian Dream did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Some Georgians told Reuters they wanted change.

“I voted for freedom and European choice,” voter Irakli Andronikashvili said in Tbilisi on Saturday, adding that he wanted a government that was “more progressive, less corrupt and more common sense.”

Georgia was once one of the most pro-Western states to emerge from the chaotic aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union. The road leading from Tbilisi Airport is named after former US President George W. Bush.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Tbilisi’s relations with the West have taken a sharp downward turn. Unlike many Western allies, Georgia has refused to impose sanctions on Moscow, while the rhetoric of the Georgian Dream has become increasingly pro-Russian.

Georgian Dream has drawn the ire of its Western allies for what they see as its increasingly authoritarian bent. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban congratulated Georgian Dream on an “overwhelming victory”.

The pro-opposition Formula poll said the ruling party would be the largest party, but that the four main opposition parties combined would have 83 seats.

Georgia’s four main opposition blocs are deeply divided and it is unclear whether they will be able to work together if they deprive Georgian Dream of its majority.

Sandro Dvalishvili, a 23-year-old Georgian Dream activist, told Reuters last week that Georgia would face “danger” if his party of choice is defeated at the polls.

“If it turns out that we don’t win, it will be very bad for me. Because I don’t see another force that can bring peace and stability to our country,” he said.

(Reporting by Felix Light, Lucy Papachristou and Gleb Stolyarov; and Marina Bobrova in Moscow; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Frances Kerry, Alexandra Hudson)