TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Opposition supporters in Georgia planned to hold a protest in the country's capital on Monday against the official results of a weekend parliamentary election in which the governing party was declared victorious amid voting irregularities and allegations of Russian meddling. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said Sunday she did not recognize the official results and that the country had fallen victim to a “Russian special operation” aimed at pulling it back into Moscow's orbit and derailing its plan to join the European Union. Zourabichvili, a fierce critic of the governing party, urged Georgians to rally on the main street of the capital, Tbilisi, on Monday night to protest what she called a “total falsification, a total stealing of your votes,” raising the prospect of more political turmoil in the South Caucasus nation.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on the social media platform X that “the Georgian people embraced democracy yesterday” and urged Georgia’s political leaders to “respect the rule of law, repeal legislation that undermines fundamental freedoms, address deficiencies in the electoral process, and move Georgia toward its Euro-Atlantic future.
” The Central Election Commission said Sunday that the governing Georgian Dream party received 54.8% of Saturday’s votes with almost all ballots counted. The party — established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia — ha.