Georgian Dream's billionaire founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, the opposition, and foreign diplomats had cast the election as a watershed moment that would decide if Georgia moves closer to the West or leans back towards Russia amid the war in Ukraine.
Mr Ivanishvili, who made his fortune in Russia in the 1990s, came to power in 2012 advocating pro-Western views, alongside a pragmatic policy towards Russia.
But he has since soured on the West, accusing a “Global War Party” of seeking to drag Georgia into war with Russia, even as he insists Georgia is on course to join the European Union.
If victory for Mr Ivanishvili’s ruling party is confirmed, it would be a blow to the EU’s hopes of bringing more former Soviet republics into its orbit. Moldova on 20 October voted by a very slim majority to support EU accession.
This story is from the October 27, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 27, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
South Africa find a spring in their step to dominate game
A captivating year saw lots of storylines including a thrilling sevens tournaments at the Paris Olympics, Antoine Dupont magic and a Springboks double, writes Harry Latham-Coyle
Lords of the ring walk
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk created history this year
Basque in the glow: Iraola the best-kept secret lifting Cherries to new heights.
A 42-year-old Spanish head coach from the Basque region making waves and earning admirers in the Premier League isn’t a unique position.
Even cold hard cash isn't enough for this spent force
Pep Guardiola has witnessed his empire start to fall as ‘forever football’ takes its toll, writes Miguel Delaney
The babies from the Boxing Day tsunami - 20 years on
The 2004 disaster left thousands without parents. Former travel agent Lynn Stanier explains how after volunteering she vowed to never stop helping the kids she met in Sri Lanka
Hundreds of Humvees left by US forces in Afghanistan
American and Nato troops abandoned military equipment worth more than $7.2bn, much of which is now in a state of disrepair in the Taliban’s hands, as Arpan Rai reports
The family who see saving Gaza's animals as 'our duty'
A heroic family-run animal sanctuary has defied the odds by working around the clock” to save hundreds of animals suffering in Gaza during a year of intense Israeli bombardment.
Nearly 40 dead as plane crashes in Kazakhstan
Children among 29 survivors of Russian-bound flight
Man arrested for attempted murder after four hit by car
A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after four pedestrians were hit by a car in London’s West End in the early hours of Christmas Day.
Britain's lost Atlantis: Stone Age artefacts on the seabed
Discovery reveals more on prehistoric land under North Sea
