Georgian election: Ivanishvili holds mass rally before crucial vote

Three days before Georgians vote, the ruling party's founder tells supporters "we choose peace, not war".

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsUS ElectionSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifyUS ElectionElection pollsKamala HarrisDonald TrumpJD VanceTim WalzSportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessWomen at the HelmFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsUS ElectionSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersGeorgia's ruling party holds mass rally ahead of crucial voteGIORGI ARJEVANIDZE/AFPGeorgian Dream's founder Bidzina Ivanishvili is under pressure from four opposition groupsThree days before Georgians vote in an election billed as a decisive moment in their country's future, the founder of the governing Georgian Dream party has told thousands of supporters "we choose peace, not war".

After 12 years in government, Bidzina Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream faces a close race against four opposition groups to cling on to power in this Caucasus state.

His party accuses the opposition of aiming to drag Georgia into involvement in the war in Ukraine, but the opposition argues the election is a choice between Russia under Georgian Dream, or Europe.

Ivanishvili, seen as Georgia's most powerful figure, told the crowd in Liberty Square that they should have "a dignified European future based on equality".

Georgians overwhelmingly back joining the European Union, but the EU froze that process this year amid stinging accusations from Brussels that the government was backsliding on democracy.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3wpw016434o

---