On Monday, Russia brushed off accusations of meddling with parliamentary elections in Georgia, calling them "completely unfounded" at the same time the North Atlantic Treaty Organization asked for an investigation into alleged "election-related violations," as seen by international monitors.
We resolutely reject such accusations. They have become standard for many countries, and at the slightest thing they immediately accuse Russia of interference. No, that is not true, there was no interference, and the accusations are absolutely unfounded," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said at a briefing with media representatives.
Saturday's Georgian parliamentary elections, where as many as 18 parties competed in the election, saw Georgian Dream, the ruling party, with a vote share of 52.99 percent, lead the pack.
The first polls to be held in the country were held under an entirely proportional system, where almost 90 percent of the voters used electronic voting devices at polling stations.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili branded the elections illegitimate as she demanded that the global community not support an "illegitimate government, but to stand with Georgian people".
"These elections are illegitimate and nothing can reverse this reality," Zourabichvili noted on X, labeling this whole electoral process "a new form of hybrid warfare as a Russian special operation.
She pointed out the international "Russian law" and wants it exactly now.
After the US and European Union, it's NATO on Monday joining calls for an investigation on saying that the International Election Observation Mission has noted the uneven playing field in which elections were held, which undermines public trust in the outcome.
Reports of election-related violations should be fully investigated, said Farah Dakhlallah, NATO spokesperson.
According to the Central Election Commission, the ruling Georgian Dream party leads the early results with over 52.99 percent of the vote.
According to chairman of the Central Election Commission Giorgi Kalandarishvili, Georgian Dream received 935,004 votes in early data from 2,206 polls.
In the overall opposition parties, Coalition for Change took 11.2 percent, followed by United National Movement with 9.8 percent, Strong Georgia 9.0 percent, and Gakharia for Georgia 8.2 percent.
Kalandarishvili said the voting had held without conflicts, and for the first time in the history of the country, it was done using special machines of voter verification. Next, the commission legitimized the victory of Georgian Dream, a result met loud criticism and protests from the point of view of opposition's leaders and activists.
Read also| Erosion of Support Among Indian-Americans, Alarm for Democrats
Read also| Hamas and Hezbollah No Longer ‘Effective’ Proxies for Iran, Israeli Defense Minister
