Georgian voters are heading to the polls on Saturday to vote in a landmark election that could determine the country’s future ties to the European Union.
Around 3.5 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots, with all 150 seats in the Georgian Parliament up for grabs.
The ruling Georgian Dream party favours closer economic cooperation with Russia, while the pro-Western opposition wants to take the country towards EU membership.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the Georgian Dream party told the Interpressnews news agency that he expects a clear victory for his party in the country’s parliamentary election.
“Our forecast is optimistic, we expect 60% of the vote from the population,” he reportedly said on Saturday while casting his own vote, again emphasizing the importance of the election for the future direction of the country.
Kobakhidze described the election as “a referendum on war and peace, between amoral propaganda and traditional values; a referendum on the dark past and bright future of the country.”
Meanwhile, the country’s pro-European President Salome Zourabichvili, who initiated an opposition alliance with a reform agenda for the election, said she was confident that this day will determine the future of Georgia.
Georgia is a candidate for accession to the EU, but the process is currently on hold due to controversial laws introduced by the current administration.
The Georgian Dream party has been in power since 2012, when it took over from the pro-Western government of the United National Movement under president Mikhail Saakashvili.
Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who founded Georgian Dream, is seen as the most powerful figure in the country. If he wins a two-thirds majority, he wants to have the United National Movement banned.
Ivanishvili blames the party for the 2008 war with Russia. At the time, Moscow recognized the breakaway territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. As a result, Georgia lost 20% of its national territory.
Polling stations are open from 8 am (0400 GMT) to 8 pm, with results expected late on Saturday.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has deployed 500 election observers to report on the conditions of the vote.
