TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia’s opposition objected to election results Saturday after officials said the ruling party was leading the critical vote that could decide whether the country turns West or returns to Russia’s orbit.

Many Georgians saw the vote as a make-or-break referendum on the opportunity to join the European Union. Early figures show it was the highest turnout since 2012, when the ruling Georgian Dream party was first elected.

The Central Election Commission of Georgia said Georgian Dream won 52.99% with the majority of votes counted. Not all paper ballots and ballots cast by Georgians abroad have been counted, and it is unclear when the final result may be announced.

Georgian Dream opposed the four main opposition groups, which showed that they did not accept the results. The opposition first declared victory shortly after the polls closed at 20:00 local time (16:00 GMT).

If Georgian Dream’s victory is confirmed, the party will have a parliamentary majority, raising fears about the country’s EU membership. The party became increasingly authoritarian and adopted laws similar to those used by Russia to restrict freedom of expression. Afterwards such a law was passed Brussels suspended Georgia’s EU membership process earlier this year.

Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder of Georgian Dream, declared victory immediately after the polls closed, saying, “It is rare in the world for the same party to be so successful in such a difficult situation.”

Tina Bokuchava, head of the United National Movement opposition party, accused the CEC of carrying out Ivanishvili’s “dirty order” and said he was “stealing the victory of the Georgian people and therefore the future of Europe.”

He stated that the opposition would not recognize the results and would “fight like never before to take back our future in Europe.”

Georgian election observers, who deployed thousands of people across the country to monitor the vote, said there were numerous violations and the results “did not conform to the will of the Georgian people.”

The pre-election campaign in the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million people bordering Russia was dominated by foreign policy and marked by allegations of a bitter vote fight and smear campaign.

Some Georgians He complained about the threat and while pressured to vote for the Georgian Dream, the opposition accused the party of waging a “hybrid war” against its citizens.

The largest opposition party, the United National Movement, said its headquarters was attacked on election day. Georgian media also reported that two people were hospitalized after being attacked outside polling stations, one in the western city of Zugdidi and the other in the town of Marneuli, south of the capital Tbilisi.

There were also numerous reports of voting irregularities.

A video shared on social media on Saturday also showed a man filling ballot papers into a box at a polling station in Marneuli. The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs launched an investigation, the Central Election Commission said that a criminal case was opened and all results from the ballot box will be declared invalid.

Georgian Dream announces it will ban opposition parties

Ivanishvili ahead of parliamentary elections — shady billionaire The man who founded the Georgian Dream and made his fortune in Russia promised once again that he would ban opposition parties if his party won.

Speaking at a pro-government rally in Tbilisi on Wednesday, Ivanishvili said Georgian Dream would hold opposition parties “fully accountable with the full force of the law” for “war crimes” committed against the Georgian people. He did not reveal what crimes he believed the opposition had committed.

Many believed this election to be the most important vote since Georgia gained independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili called it an “existential choice.”

Georgians “want European integration, they want progress, and they want policies that will bring us a better, more stable future,” Qristine Tordia, 29, told The Associated Press shortly after voting in Tbilisi.

Nearly 80 percent of Georgians support joining the EU, polls show, and the country’s constitution requires leaders to remain members of the bloc and NATO.

However, Brussels has indefinitely suspended Georgia’s bid to join the EU after the ruling party passed a “Russian law”. Restriction of freedom of expression In June. Many Georgians fear that the Georgian Dream is pushing the country towards authoritarianism and destroying hopes of joining the EU.

“The election is not just about changing the government, it is also about whether Georgia will survive, because Ivanishvili’s government means Russia,” Nika Gvaramia, leader of the opposition group Coalition for Change, said in a statement before the polls closed.

Ivanishvili voted under heavy security on Saturday morning. He did not answer the question of whether the AP wanted to form an alliance with Russia.

He said the election was a choice between “a government that will serve you” and “electing representatives of a foreign country who will only carry out the wishes of the foreign country.” In the elections, he and his officials claimed that a “Global War Party” was trying to influence the EU and the US, expand the conflict in Ukraine, and remove the Georgian Dream from power.

The opposition supports the reform plan required by the EU

Opposition parties ignored Zourabichvili’s demand to unite into a single party but signed his “charter” to implement the reforms required for EU accession.

The ruling and opposition parties have told voters they will pursue EU membership, even though the laws passed by the Georgian Dream have suspended that hope.

At last week’s EU summit, EU leaders said they had “serious concerns about the steps taken by the Georgian government.”

Georgian Dream was opposed by three coalitions: Unity National Movement, Coalition for Change Lelo and Strong Georgia.

The Gakharia for Georgia party, founded by former prime minister Giorgi Gakharia, said it would not form an alliance with anyone, but would support the opposition to form a government if they received enough votes.

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Associated Press producer Sophiko Megrelidze contributed to this report