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Georgian Dream leads parliamentary elections with 55 prc of votes

The coalition has received 54.93 percent of votes, the Central Election Commission said on Wednesday, October 3

TBILISI, October 3 (Itar-Tass) —— The opposition Georgian Dream coalition is leading the parliamentary elections with almost 55 percent of votes after ballots from 99.42 percent of polling stations (3,744 of 3,766) have been counted.

The coalition has received 54.93 percent of votes, the Central Election Commission said on Wednesday, October 3.

The pro-presidential United National Movement is second with 40.35 percent of votes. The other 14 organisations that competed in the elections could not come even close to the 5-percent barrier.

The Central Election Commission is finishing the counting of votes from the remaining 22 polling stations. Full preliminary results are expected to be announced within an hour.

As for majoritarian districts, Georgian Dream candidates are leading in 37 of 73 districts and the United National Movement in 36.

The Georgian Dream may get 80 or 81 seats in the new 150-member parliament, and the United National Movement 69 or 70. As a result, the coalition will have a simple, not qualified (two-thirds) majority in the parliament.

Meanwhile, its leader Bidzina Ivanishvili has named the incumbent government responsible for ensuring public law and order in the country and for proper operation of its agencies until a new government is formed.

He stressed that the Georgian Dream would seek to “ensure constitutional order and uninterrupted work of governmental agencies during the changeover process”.

“In accordance with the Constitution of Georgia, relations between the new parliamentary majority and the president, who represents the opposition, are unavoidable. It is necessary to settle many questions with the incumbent government. To this end, a working group consisting of coalition members has been set up and empowered to conduct consultations with the incumbent president and government on behalf of the Georgian Dream,” Ivanishvili said.

The group includes Irakly Alasania (former Georgian permanent representative to the United Nations and head of Free Democrats), David Usupashvili (head of the Republican Party) and Irakly Garibashvili (one of the coalition leaders).

The Georgian Dream coalition is made up of six parties: Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia, the Republican Party of Georgia, Free Democrats, National Forum, Conservative Party, and Industry Will save Georgia.