samadashvili3_ GIORGI ARJEVANIDZEAFP via Getty Images_georgia elections GIORGI ARJEVANIDZE/AFP via Getty Images

The End of Georgia’s European Dream?

Initial evidence suggests that the victory of the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party in the recent parliamentary election reflects widespread fraud. If the West fails to support democratic opposition parties in challenging the results, Georgia’s 30-year-old democracy could come to an end.

TBILISI – In Georgia’s 2012 election, then-President Mikheil Saakashvili’s pro-Western party was defeated by Georgian Dream, a party led by the Russian-backed oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili. Though widely hailed at the time as a democratic triumph, astute observers warned against celebrating.

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