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00:00The precinct opened at 8 o'clock, and so far it goes mostly in the right direction, in
00:05the calm and in the order.
00:08The turnout is very high, like 22 percent at 1 p.m., which is one of the highest for
00:14this last 10 years.
00:15So it's quite important, and the opposition thinks that it would be favorable for them,
00:21that the pro-European would be more eager to go to vote.
00:25So that's an important information.
00:27Nevertheless, there were some tension, because the campaign was really tense this last month,
00:33these last weeks, and the voting is sometimes a bit tense as well.
00:38For example, in one of the precincts, there is a video of people trying to stuff the ballot
00:43with multiple ballots that they put in one time in it, and it creates some tensions,
00:48of course, in it, and this precinct has been closed.
00:52And there were, in a few places, some fights from people around the government or supporting
00:59the government going against the opposition.
01:01So the tension is there, but so far it's quite not enough significant to say that the voting
01:09goes bad, and mostly it is in the order and in the calm.
01:13Okay, so a bit of a mixed picture there.
01:15We've, of course, mentioned that this vote could prove decisive for the country in terms
01:21of joining the EU, potentially, or getting more cosy with Russia.
01:25How is the geopolitical context in the region likely to impact the votes?
01:29Could the war in Ukraine likely impact the outcome, for example?
01:33Yes, this is exactly the elephant in the room.
01:36This is extremely important, and all the communication of the government was based on the peace.
01:43So we should, they didn't say it's trade, because most of the Georgians are pro-European,
01:48so the government can't say we should leave Europe and go back under the Russian orbit.
01:54But it is what it is about, and the government speaks a lot about peace.
01:58This is the key message.
01:59With us, you will have peace.
02:01With the opposition, meaning with the pro-European, the pro-Western, you will have the war.
02:06And this is working effectively within the opinion in Georgia, indeed.