Accessibility links

Breaking News

Ties with West in Focus in Georgian Presidential Run-off

update

Grigol Vashadze, Georgia's former foreign minister and presidential candidate, center, speaks to journalists at his headquarters in Tbilisi, Georgia, Oct. 28, 2018.
Grigol Vashadze, Georgia's former foreign minister and presidential candidate, center, speaks to journalists at his headquarters in Tbilisi, Georgia, Oct. 28, 2018.

Ex-Soviet Georgia votes in a presidential election runoff on Wednesday that pits a candidate backed by the ruling party who favors a policy balancing ties with Moscow and the West against a rival who advocates a stronger pro-Western line.

If the opposition challenger Grigol Vashadze wins, he is likely to use the presidency's limited powers to push a vocal message of integration with the U.S.-led NATO alliance and the European Union β€” sensitive issues in a country that fought a war in 2008 with its neighbour Russia.

Salome Zurabishvili, former Georgian Foreign minister and presidential candidate, speaks to the media at a polling station in Tbilisi, Georgia, Oct. 28, 2018.
Salome Zurabishvili, former Georgian Foreign minister and presidential candidate, speaks to the media at a polling station in Tbilisi, Georgia, Oct. 28, 2018.

The ruling party and its candidate in the vote, Salome Zurabishvili, take a more pragmatic line, balancing Georgia's aspirations to move closer to the West with a desire to avoid antagonising the Kremlin.

Zurabishvili, a former French career diplomat and Georgia's foreign minister from 2004-2005 who is supported by the ruling Georgian Dream party, received 38.7 percent of the vote in the first round on Oct. 28.

That was just one percentage point ahead of Vashadze, who was a foreign minister in 2008-2012 in the resolutely pro-Western government that was in power when the conflict with Russia broke out over a Moscow-backed breakaway territory.

Constitutional changes have reduced the authority of the president, and put most levers of power in the hands of the prime minister, a Georgian Dream loyalist.

International observers said that the first round of voting had been competitive, but had been held on "an unlevel playing field" with state resources misused, private media biased, and some phoney candidates taking part.

FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2016, photo, Georgian businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili greets supporters during a rally in Tbilisi, Georgia.
FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2016, photo, Georgian businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili greets supporters during a rally in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The first round result was a setback for Georgian Dream and its founder, billionaire banker Bidzina Ivanishvili. He is Georgia's richest man, and critics say he rules the country from behind the scenes.

Zurabishvili's supporters say she would bring international stature to the presidency. But her opponents have criticised her for statements that appeared to blame Georgia for war with Russia in 2008 and remarks about minorities that some see as xenophobic.

Zurabishvili cut back her public meetings with voters and media appearances after the first round.

WATCH: Georgia election

Georgians Vote in Last Direct Presidential Election
please wait

No media source currently available

0:00 0:02:30 0:00

​The opposition said there have been attacks on opposition activists during campaigning. One opposition coordinator was stabbed and and a petrol bomb was thrown into the the yard of another activist.

The second round will be under close scrutiny, from opposition and international observers, for any sign the ruling party is using its control of the state machinery to help Zurabishvili win.

The ruling party has denied any link to attacks on opposition activists, and denied attempting to unfairly influence the outcome of the vote.

  • 16x9 Image

    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

​
XS
SM
MD
LG