Hungary's Orbán boosts Georgia's ruling party over election despite an outcry the vote was rigged
World
Orbán gave a different assessment after meeting with his counterpart
TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán gave a boost Tuesday to Georgia’s ruling party, saying its victory in a parliamentary election in the South Caucasus nation was free and democratic despite a massive opposition protest that denounced the vote as rigged and illegitimate.
Orbán, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest partner in the European Union, is the first foreign leader to visit Georgia following Saturday’s vote that the country’s electoral commission said was won by the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Georgia’s president and opposition said the election was “stolen” with the help of Russia, claiming there was widespread ballot fraud and violence, with the EU and the U.S. calling for a full investigation.
But Orbán gave a different assessment after meeting with his counterpart, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, and congratulating him on the victory by his Georgian Dream party.
“I look at the debate that has erupted around the election, I read the evaluations of international organizations, and I see that no one dares to question that this election was a free and democratic choice,” Orbán said.
People rallied outside parliament Monday night, demanding a new election under international supervision and an investigation into the alleged vote rigging. The protest underlined tensions in the country which lies between Russia and Turkey and where the Georgian Dream party has become increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow.
