Georgian voters will go to the polls on Saturday to vote in key elections that could determine the country’s future ties with the European Union.
About 3.5 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots, with all 150 seats in the Georgian parliament up for grabs.
The ruling Georgian Dream party favors closer economic cooperation with Russia, while the pro-Western opposition wants to lead the country towards EU membership.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze of the Georgian Dream party told the Interpressnews news agency that he expects a clear victory for his party in the country’s parliamentary elections.
“Our forecast is optimistic, we expect 60% of the population’s votes,” he reportedly said on Saturday as he cast his own vote, reiterating the importance of the elections for the country’s future direction.
Kobakhidze described the elections as “a referendum on war and peace, between amoral propaganda and traditional values; a referendum on the country’s dark past and bright future.”
Meanwhile, the country’s pro-European President Salome Zourabichvili, who launched an opposition alliance with an electoral reform agenda, said she was confident the day would determine Georgia’s future.
Georgia is a candidate for EU accession, but the process is currently at a standstill due to controversial laws introduced by the current government.
The Georgian Dream party has been in power since 2012, when it took over the leadership of the pro-Western United National Movement government under President Mikhail Saakashvili.
Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who founded Georgian Dream, is seen as the country’s most powerful figure. If he gets a two-thirds majority, he wants the United National Movement to be banned.
Ivanishvili blames the party for the war with Russia in 2008. At the time, Moscow recognized the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. As a result, Georgia lost 20% of its national territory.
Polling stations are open from 8am (04am GMT) to 8pm, with results expected late on Saturday.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has deployed 500 election observers to report on voting conditions.
