The Georgian election will be a pivotal moment for democracy

Next week, the Georgian people will cast their votes in a watershed election which will be watched closely in Washington, Moscow, Brussels and beyond.

It is nothing short of a referendum on the democratic future of this proud country, which has existed under the shadow of Russia for too long.

As the October 26 election day edges ever closer, the Kremlin-backed Georgian Dream party continue to wield every tool in their armoury to subvert the democratic process. In an increasingly sinister run of announcements, the incumbents have made little effort to conceal their intention to hold onto their position in power, whatever the cost.

In August, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze pledged to outlaw virtually all political opposition if returned to power. This threat came just days after the government party announced plans to dissolve the largest opposition grouping in Parliament the United National Movement, which I co-founded over 20 years ago. No wonder then that observers have begun to liken Georgia’s government to that of North Korea’s.

Last month, the absurdly named Georgian Anti-Corruption Bureau also attempted to halt the election observation operations of Transparency International, an organisation set up with the express intent of protecting democratic process. The decision was rolled-back after an outcry from the international community, but one would be foolish to assume the Bureau doesn’t have further such tricks up its sleeve.

These events – though abhorrent – are hardly surprising when one considers whose direction the ruling party is under. Party chair Bidzina Ivanishvili has been controlling Georgia from the shadows now for well over a decade. A made-in-Russia oligarch and ally of Vladimir Putin, Ivanishvili’s $5bn fortune accounts for roughly one third of Georgia’s entire GDP. This, while a staggering 14% of Georgians remain unemployed and the economy collapses like a cheap deck chair.

Ivanishvili keeps his fingers in many pies. His toadying servants can be found in state offices across the land – from the Anti-Corruption Bureau to the Central Election Commission and the prosecutor’s office.

In elections past, Georgian Dream has manipulated voter lists, tampered with ballot boxes and even deployed martial arts athletes at polling stations to intimidate voters.

Last week, parliament initiated a second round of impeachment proceedings against President Salome Zourabichvili, simply for having the nerve to voice dissent towards the governing party’s increasingly authoritarian tendencies. Meanwhile, my good friend, fellow UNM founder and ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili continues to languish in prison, on charges that many consider a sham.