Paul Grenier: claims that Georgian Dream did not win elections are unconvincing

The assertion by non-governmental organisations that the ruling Georgian Dream party did not win last year’s elections and could only have secured victory through deception is “extremely unconvincing,” writes Paul Grenier, President of the Simone Weil Center for Political Philosophy, in his article ‘Peace and Georgian Dream’.

According to Grenier, until disagreements emerged between the ruling party and Western foreign policy preferences, the legitimacy of Georgian Dream’s electoral victories since 2012 had never been questioned by the West. He argues that it was unlikely the party would suddenly lose a significant portion of its electorate solely because it firmly rejected confrontational policies.

“Georgian Dream has maintained popularity and has repeatedly won elections since 2012. Until its differences with Western foreign policy preferences appeared, there were no claims in the West that these victories were illegitimate. Such claims only arose once their positions diverged.

“Moreover, during this entire period Georgia consistently recorded positive economic growth. According to the latest World Bank statistics I found, GDP growth in 2023 stood at 6.7%, while in 2024 it was likely even higher. As several of my interlocutors in Tbilisi emphasised, it was hardly expected that last year Georgian Dream would suddenly lose a large portion of its electorate simply because the party rejected confrontational policies that had led to war and the near-destruction of Ukraine”, Grenier wrote.