Georgia

Georgia's election forces voters to choose between a future with Russia or Europe

Published

1 year ago

October 25, 2024

Georgia's election forces voters to choose between a future with Russia or Europe

Supporters of the ruling Georgian Dream party at the party’s final campaign rally in Tbilisi on Oct. 23, 2024, ahead of the Oct. 26 parliamentary elections.

Giorgi Arjevanidze | Afp | Getty Images

Parliamentary elections in Georgia this weekend have been described as the vote “of a lifetime” that will determine whether the country moves toward Russia or the West.

The vote on Saturday is being closely watched for whether the ruling “Georgian Dream” party — which has morphed from an expressly pro-Western grouping over its 12 years in power to a decidedly pro-Russia one in recent years — can hold on to office, or whether it will unseated by pro-Western opposition parties.

Voter polls in the run-up to the vote are considered unreliable as they have generally been commissioned or conducted by pro-opposition or pro-government groups. There’s also the possibility that none of the parties on the ballot paper will be able to form a government on its own and a coalition will be necessary.

Close watchers of Georgian politics say Saturday’s election is a pivotal moment for a country that, like other former Soviet republics, has found itself pulled between a future aligned with Russia or the West, and where political polarization has become pronounced.

“All sides agree the upcoming elections are a critical moment for Georgia’s future,” Ketevan Chachava, non-resident fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said in commentary earlier this month.

“The governing Georgian Dream Party’s rhetoric toward the West — its founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, calls the West the “party of war” and says it forced Georgia and Russia into confrontation — has alarmed pro-European groups, international partners and observers, highlighting a broader struggle between pro-European and pro-Russian forces,” she noted.

Campaign billboards of the ruling Georgian Dream party depicting opposition parties’ leaders and activists and reading in Georgian “No to war, No to Agents,” in Tbilisi, on Oct. 22, 2024, ahead of the Oct. 26 parliamentary elections.

Giorgi Arjevanidze | Afp | Getty Images

The Georgian Dream-led government has enacted various policies of late that have gone against the grain of its previous ambitions to join NATO and the European Union and have instead aligned it with Moscow, with the introduction of what critics and opposition parties decry as repressive laws stifling media freedoms, civil society and the rights of sexual minorities.

The introduction of a Russia-style law on foreign influence in May — and a brutal police crackdown on subsequent protests at the bill — was particularly contentious, and seen as the most obvious example of Georgian Dream’s slide toward a Kremlin-like style of governance.

The government has since doubled down on perceived Western influences in domestic politics, saying it would seek to ban all pro-Western opposition groups if it secures a constitutional majority in this weekend’s election.

Despite its increasingly anti-Western rhetoric, Georgian Dream insists it still wants Georgia to join the EU and its election posters feature the party’s logo along with the symbol of the EU.

People walk past campaign posters of the ruling Georgian Dream party in Tbilisi on Oct. 22, 2024, ahead of the Oct. 26 parliamentary elections.

Giorgi Arjevanidze | Afp | Getty Images

Critical vote

The Georgian government’s perceived backtracking on human rights and democratic principles have put it in direct conflict with Washington and the EU, which have imposed sanctions on Georgian officials, and put Tbilisi’s EU accession talks and funding on ice as a result. It’s a rapid fall from grace as Georgia only obtained EU candidate status in December 2023.

European lawmakers warned this month that “democracy is at risk” in Georgia, and have told Georgian Dream it must “roll back undemocratic legislation in order to make progress in its relations with the EU,” a statement from the European Parliament earlier in October noted.

People with Georgian and European Union flags at a gathering celebrating Europe Day outside President Salome Zurabishvili’s residence in Tbilisi on May 9, 2024.

Vano Shlamov | Afp | Getty Images

European lawmakers see the upcoming parliamentary elections as “decisive in determining Georgia’s future democratic development and geopolitical choice” and its ability to make progress on its EU member state candidacy, the European Parliament noted.

Analysts have widely described Georgia’s election as a referendum “for or against Europe,” but it could also be viewed as a vote for or against remaining within Russia’s sphere of influence and closer geopolitical and economic relations with Moscow.

The specter of Georgia’s former Soviet overlord certainly looms large over the vote, with Moscow seen to have exerted a stronger influence over the ruling Georgian Dream party in recent years, and particularly since it launched its invasion of fellow former Soviet republic and pro-Western Ukraine in February 2022.

Georgian Dream refrained from joining Western and international sanctions against Russia after the war began and founder Ivanishvili has pitched the election as a choice between peace and war, casting the West as a “Global War Party” that would suck Georgia into a conflict with Russia, as he said it had done with Ukraine.

Georgian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili attends the final campaign rally of the ruling Georgian Dream party in Tbilisi on Oct. 23, 2024, ahead of Oct. 26 parliamentary elections.

Giorgi Arjevanidze | Afp | Getty Images

Moscow will be watching the outcome closely, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War noted Monday, noting that the Kremlin intends to leverage any Russia-friendly Georgian government “to enhance strategic Russian interests and Moscow’s geopolitical objectives of asserting control over Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia.”

“The election outcome will likely determine whether Georgia abandons its longstanding policy of aligning with the West and instead deepens economic and political ties with the Kremlin in line with the pro-Kremlin positions the ruling Georgian Dream party has increasingly taken,” the ISW noted.

Polarization

Georgian Dream and pro-EU groups have both looked to rally supporters ahead of the vote, holding rallies in the capital Tbilisi in the last week.

Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili, staunchly critical of the ruling party, addressed crowds of supporters last weekend, telling them that the vote would “demonstrate people’s will for freedom, independence, and a European future.”

“Here today is the society, the people, the Georgians who are going to Europe,” Zourabichvili told the crowd, many of whom were draped in EU and Georgian flags.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili delivers a speech during an gathering celebrating Europe Day outside her residence in Tbilisi on May 9, 2024.

Vano Shlamov | Afp | Getty Images

Meanwhile, Georgian Dream founder Ivanishvili sought to demonize the pro-Western opposition at a rally Wednesday, telling crowds of pro-government supporters that if Georgian Dream won the election it would make opposition parties “answer with the full rigor of the law for the war crimes committed against the population of Georgia,” Reuters reported, without specifying what crimes they had committed.

Tbilisi’s pre-election environment has been increasingly polarized, analysts say, setting the stage for heightened tensions around the election result, whatever the outcome.

An additional complicating factor is recent electoral reform, which means the 150 seats in Georgia’s parliament will be awarded under a fully proportional system, with parties needing to surpass a 5% threshold to win seats.

“In addition to recent poll results, the switch to a fully proportional electoral system makes it difficult to imagine GD’s [Golden Dream’s] outright victory or the opposition’s complete defeat,” Tina Dolbaia, Benjamin Shefner, and Maria Snegovaya of the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in analysis last week.

“The most likely scenario, according to this logic, would be a coalition government in Tbilisi, curbing GD’s power. However, there are significant concerns over electoral malfeasance, including vote buying, ballot stuffing, carousel voting, misusing the state and administrative resources, and depriving citizens living outside of Georgia of the right to vote,” the analysts noted.

“Additionally, even if the civil society manages to overcome these obstacles on election day and GD fails to secure a majority of seats, the political environment in Georgia is still deeply polarized. If the opposition refuses to form a single bloc after the elections, GD may remain the most powerful party in the parliament.”

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Georgia

Georgia Men Defeat Florida State; Women Take Down Florida State and Arkansas

Published

8 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Georgia Men Defeat Florida State; Women Take Down Florida State and Arkansas

Georgia vs Arkansas vs Florida State

January 10, 2026
Athens, GA — Gabrielsen Natatorium
SCY (25 Yards)
Full Meet Results
Team Scores Women
- #14 Georgia 170 — Florida State 116
- #14 Georgia 169 — Arkansas 124
- Arkansas 195 — Florida State 101
Team Scores Men
- #4 Georgia 183.5 — #10 Florida State 114.5

The Georgia Bulldogs swept Florida State and the women also took down Arkansas in their first dual meet of 2026. The Arkansas women beat Florida State in their dual, 195 to 101.

Women’s Meet Recap

The #14 ranked UGA women easily defeated Florida State and Arkansas in their double dual meet on Saturday, outscoring Florida State by more than 50 and Arkansas by more than 40.

Despite earning the overall win, the Georgia women did not take home either relay titles, but they had the fastest times in most of the individual events.

Freshman Kennedi Dobson continued to build on her strong NCAA season, taking home three event wins with the top times in the 1000 free, 200 back, and 500 free. In the 1000, she swam 9:29.05, a new personal best time and the 3rd fastest time in the country this season.

She also swam the 200 back and 500 free double, which sees only the 200 breast come in between, setting a new best time in the 200 back of 1:53.66 and in the 500 free, she swam 4:39.48 for the win.

The only other Georgia swimmer to set the fastest time in multiple events was Ieva Maluka. She won the 200 fly in 1:56.29, a new season best time. She also had the fastest time in the 200 IM, touching in 1:58.11, but the Bulldogs exhibitioned the last event to allow Arkansas and Florida State to score more points.

Charlotte Headland and Elizabeth Nawrocki split the breaststroke events for Georgia. Headland swam the 100 breast in a personal best 1:00.50, building on her progression this season. She came into the year at 1:01.39, and has dropped three times since then.

Nawrocki, a freshman, swam 2:11.48, just missing her personal and season best of 2:08.44 This swim was still more than a second faster than the 2:13.00 she started college with.

Marie Landreneau won the women’s 200 freestyle for Georgia, touching in 1:44.46 to beat teammate Shea Furse‘s 1:46.77 by a little over two seconds.

Finally, senior Olivia Della Torre won the 100 fly in 53.09, just off her season and personal best of 52.95 from the UGA Fall Invitational.

Arkansas bested Florida State in their dual meet, due, in part, to the strong performance from Harriet Rogers. Rogers won both the 50 and 100 free, swimming 22.23 in the 50 and 48.77 in the 100 to earn the top spots.

Holly Robinson won the 200 IM with her 2:03.06 coming in as the fastest non-Georgia swimmer, so she won the event, picking up nine points for the Razorbacks.

Arkansas also won the 400 free relay. Tammy Greenwood led off in 49.69. Rogers swam 48.38. Delaney Harrison was 3rd in 49.54, and Viola Petrini swam 49.73.

They also had the top two divers at the meet with Lotti Hubert earning the top spot on the 1 meter board in 314.75, leading three other Razorbacks to take the top four overall spots in the event. The 3 meter went to Maria Jose Sanchez in 348.00, more than 20 points ahead of 2nd place Kayleigh Clark from Florida State.

Florida State won one individual event and one relay. They started the meet with a win in the 200 medley relay with their team of Alice Velden (24.50), Martina Fanunza (28.07), Maryn McDade (22.95), and Mary Leigh Hardman (22.20) swimming 1:37.72 to beat the Georgia ‘A’ team by half-a-second.

Velden also won the 100 backstroke in 53.76, missing her season best of 52.40 by about a second.

Men’s Meet Recap

The men’s meet was just a dual meet between Georgia and Florida State, and the Bulldogs came out on top, scoring 183.5 points to Florida State’s 114.5.

Georgia won both relays, starting with the top time in the 200 medley relay where they swam 1:24.38 to come in just two tenths ahead of Florida State. Luca Urlando led off for Georgia, splitting 21.10 to earn the Georgia team a near seven tenth lead. Elliot Woodburn was 23.94 on the breaststroke, Ruard Van Renen split 20.18 on the butterfly, and Tane Bidois was 19.16 on the freestyle.

Florida State’s relay consisted of Max Wilson (21.77), Tommaso Baravelli (23.72), Michel Arkhangelskiy (19.91), and Sam Bork (19.20), and they touched in 1:24.60.

The 400 freestyle relay was made up of Van Renen (43.26), Tomas Koski (42.81), Bidois (43.04), and Luke Sandberg (43.21) swimming 2:52.32 to win the event by more than two seconds.

Luca Urlando won three events for the Bulldogs, swimming 1:39.59 in the 200 fly to win by almost four seconds over teammate Drew Hitchcock. He also won the 100 fly in 45.27, coming in more than a second ahead of Florida State’s Michel Arkhangelskiy‘s 46.72

Urlando also swam the 200 IM for the first time this season, touching in 1:42.95, the 15th fastest time in the country this season.

Georgia freshman Sean Green won two events, swimming 8:57.64 in the 1000 and 4:19.57 in the 500.

Hayden Meyers and Ruard Van Renen split the backstroke events. Van Renen won the 100 back in 44.68 and Meyers won the 200 back in 1:41.66.

Florida State picked up event wins in both distances of breaststroke and the 50 and 100 freestyles. Michel Arkhangelskiy won the 50 free in 19.64 and he won the 100 free in 42.92, off his season best times in both.

Tommaso Baravelli won the 100 breast for the Seminoles in 53.63, coming in more than half-a-second ahead of teammate Liam O’Connor‘s 54.26 in 2nd.

Mathias Christensen won the 200 breast in 1:57.15, just 17 hundredths ahead of Georgia’s Cale Martter, who swam 1:57.32.

Up Next

Georgia will race Tennessee on January 24th in Knoxville.

Florida State will host Florida on January 30th.

Arkansas will race kansas on January 23rd in Kansas.

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Georgia

Alabama linebacker to transfer to Georgia Tech

Published

20 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Georgia Tech

Pro Football Focus graded Noah Carter Alabama’s third-best tackler this season.

Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton runs against Alabama linebacker Noah Carter during the first half of a Southeastern Conference championship NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Atlanta. (Mike Stewart/AP)

A third Alabama player is transferring to Georgia Tech for the 2026 season.

Noah Carter, a 6-foot-4, 243-pound linebacker, intends to transfer to Tech, On3 reported Saturday. Carter spent two seasons with the Crimson Tide.

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Chad Bishop is a Georgia Tech sports reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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Georgia

Arsenal lead hunt for Georgia Stanway with England midfielder to leave Bayern in summer

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Arsenal lead hunt for Georgia Stanway with England midfielder to leave Bayern in summer

Arsenal are among the leading candidates to sign Georgia Stanway this summer after Bayern Munich confirmed the England midfielder would leave the German club when her contract expires.

According to sources, the north London club are understood to be one of a number of teams interested in acquiring the 27-year-old on a free transfer, but Renée Slegers’ team are leading the running having tracked Stanway’s progress and are eager to add a world-class midfielder to their squad.

Stanway helped England win back-to-back European titles as well as being part of a Bayern Munich team that have won three consecutive Frauen Bundesliga titles since she arrived in the summer of 2022.

Bayern’s director of women’s football, Bianca Rech, praised her “commitment and character”, adding in a statement on Saturday: “As the first English player at FC Bayern Women, Georgia Stanway not only made history but also stole our hearts. We talked a lot and openly about her future, and when she told us that she now wanted to try something new, her reasons were completely understandable.”

Stanway posted on social media that she had made lifelong friends at the German club and told the club: “I will give everything for the club and its sporting success until my very last day, just as I have for the past three and a half years. And I want to say goodbye to the club and the fans at the end of the season with as many titles as possible.”

Aston Villa are set to sign the France midfielder Oriane Jean-François from Chelsea for £450,000 in a club-record fee for a sale by the London side. It is understood that the deal is agreed and the 24-year-old’s move should be finalised in the coming days. The former Paris Saint-Germain player has been with Chelsea since 2024.

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