Tbilisi, 26 October 2024 (dpa/MIA) – Georgia heads to the polls on Saturday in an election that could determine the country's future ties to the European Union.

Around 3.5 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots, with all 150 seats in the Georgian Parliament up for grabs.

The ruling Georgian Dream party favours closer economic cooperation with Russia, while the pro-Western opposition wants to take the country towards EU membership.

Georgia is a candidate for accession to the bloc, but the process is currently on hold due to controversial laws introduced by the current administration.

Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who founded Georgian Dream, is seen as the most powerful figure in the country.

He has said he would ban the largest opposition party, the United National Movement, which ruled Georgia until 2012.

Ivanishvili blames the party for the 2008 war with Russia. At the time, Moscow recognized the breakaway territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states. As a result, Georgia lost 20% of its national territory.

Polling stations are open from 8 am (0400 GMT) to 8 pm, with results are expected late on Saturday.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has deployed 500 election observers to report on the conditions of the vote.

Photo: EPA