Georgia heads for tense parliamentary election

DW (English)

Georgia's upcoming parliamentary elections will pit a pro-Europe coalition against the Black Sea country's ruling Georgian Dream party. Polls show most Georgians favor joining the EU, while the current government leans toward Russia.

Transcript

00:00Ahead of the parliamentary elections, the campaign race is in full swing.

00:06The ruling Georgian Dream Party holds a campaign rally in the town of Rostavi, just south of

00:11the capital Tbilisi.

00:13The party founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire and considered the most powerful

00:17man in the country, says the elections are a choice between war and peace.

00:24The previous government is responsible for the tragic war between Georgia and Russia

00:28in 2008.

00:29The National Movement Party started the war on instructions from abroad.

00:34I guarantee if you support us in the October elections, nobody will be able to drag Georgia

00:40into war.

00:42The ruling party's election campaign features images of devastated Ukrainian towns, contrasted

00:48with images of a prosperous Georgia.

00:51The clear message, the same could happen to Georgia if the pro-European opposition wins

00:56the elections.

00:57Critics say the government is increasingly tilting toward Moscow, and Ivanishvili himself

01:02has vowed to ban pro-European opposition if Georgian Dream is re-elected.

01:09This year, after the government introduced what is known as a foreign agent law, the

01:13country was plunged into months-long pro-EU protests.

01:18The law requires groups that receive funds from abroad to register with the authorities.

01:23Opponents said it was inspired by a similar law that the Kremlin has used to silence critical

01:28voices.

01:32But despite its current poor relations with the European Union, the ruling government

01:36insists Georgia will join the EU.

01:40The party emblem, with EU stars, evidently aimed at convincing supporters, all is on

01:46track.

01:47Is this party leading you to Europe?

01:49Yes, it is leading us there.

01:51Despite the fact that Brussels has frozen Georgia's EU integration?

01:55No one will stop this.

02:01Opposing Georgia and Dream are a number of parties.

02:04Largely divided, one of the opposition parties is led by Georgi Gakaria.

02:08He served as prime minister for Georgian Dream from 2019 until his resignation in 2021.

02:14But today he is campaigning against his former colleagues.

02:18When the government is using the fear of war to achieve their electoral goals to get more

02:23votes and blackmails and frightens its citizens with war, this shows its weakness and its

02:28real face.

02:30Our goal is to return Georgia to its European path, but we will do it peacefully.

02:36This is one of the biggest pro-EU rallies here in Georgia ahead of the elections.

02:42Civil society groups and youth movements have gathered to say Georgia chooses Europe over

02:47Russia.

02:48The upcoming vote is likely to determine whether their choice will prevail or not.

02:55The ruling party has been in power for the last 12 years and polls show it remains in

03:00the lead.

03:01But opposition parties still hope they can deprive Georgian Dream of a majority to form

03:06a coalition government in its place.

03:08Georgia's future is very much at a crossroads in these elections.

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