Ruling party ahead in key Georgian election, preliminary results show

Georgia's ruling party is ahead in Saturday's crucial parliamentary elections, with around 70% of ballots counted.

The electoral commission said Georgian Dream - which favours co-operation with Russia - leads on 53%, although parts of the splintered opposition were also claiming victory.

The Unity electoral alliance, which includes the opposition United National Movement, reportedly received around 10% of votes, behind the Coalition for Change camp on around 11%.

But President Salome Zourabichvili, who has close ties to the opposition, said on X that pro-European parties had received 52% of the vote.

"I am proud and confident in our European future," she said.

Voter turnout at 59%

Voter turnout was around 59%, according to preliminary figures.

Some 3.5 million citizens were called upon to vote both at home and abroad.

A resounding victory for Georgian Dream could threaten the country's chances of joining the European Union after the party enacted a number of controversial laws in recent years.

However, the process is on ice due to those controversial laws.

That is why, in the run-up to the vote, pro-Western forces in particular spoke of a fateful election for the country, which is at a crossroads and where both Russia and the West have a strong influence.

Electoral success for the party founded by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili could mean the country's turning away from the EU and towards closer cooperation with its large neighbour Russia.

Ivanishvili became a billionaire through business deals in Russia.

Scattered reports of irregularities

During the course of Saturday, local media reported on individual incidents and conflicts at polling stations.

In the small town of Marneuli in the south-east of the country, a man threw several ballot papers into a ballot box at a polling station, according to the Central Election Commission.

The results at the polling station would not be counted, it was said. The opposition and the government blamed each other for the incident.

The Ministry of the Interior initiated criminal proceedings.

Due to the polarised situation in the country and concerns about election fraud, many observers were deployed by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to monitor the vote.

Experts in electoral law had already complained about the ruling party's misuse of state resources.

Around 500 observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) are also on the ground. They will deliver their verdict on the election on Sunday.