By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) – With nearly all ballots counted, Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party won more than 54% percent of the vote in the weekend parliamentary election, the country's election authority said on Sunday.
Giorgi Kalandarishvili, head of the Georgian Election Administration, said in a briefing that results from 3,100 precincts have been counted, or more than 99.6% of the country’s precincts.
With results from nine precincts abroad still pending, Kalandarishvili said Georgian Dream got more than 1.1 million ballots on Saturday, or just over 54% of the vote.
Georgian Dream's closest competitors, the Coalition for Change and Unity – National Movement coalitions, got 10.9% and 10.1% of the vote, respectively, he said.
"I want to thank the Georgian people, the voters, and the public for standing by us during the most challenging times," Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told a post-election briefing.
On X, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili congratulated Georgian Dream supporters and the entire country on the ruling party's victory.
The results of Saturday exit polls were hailed by the leadership of the Georgian Dream party, including its honorary Chair Bidzina Ivanishvili.
The opposition rejected the election results, with the Coalition for Change taking to X to claim "stolen elections and a constitutional coup."