Elections in Eastern Europe: What Paths Lie Ahead?
UI held a webinar on Georgia’s post-election political landscape. Givi Silagadze, Eto Buziashvili and Per Ekman discussed the upcoming Georgian election and its similarities and differences with recent elections in Belarus and Ukraine.
In the last few years, elections in Eastern Europe have been dramatic. In Ukraine, an actor and comedian was elected president in 2019 amid war with Russia. In Belarus, a presidential election marked by deep electoral fraud in August 2020 was followed by persistent mass protests. In both countries, post-election landscapes are testimonies of a strong opposition and citizens who strive for a change of leadership. On 31 October, Georgia held parliamentary elections. Following the different paths in Ukraine and Belarus – what can we expect in Georgia? What will be the role of Russia, before and after the elections? Is a new Eastern European identity being formed?
Speakers:
Eto Buziashvili, Research Associate for the Caucasus at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab)
Givi Silagadze, Junior Policy Analyst at the Georgian Insitute of Politics.
Per Ekman, Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science at Uppsala University
Martin Kragh, Head of UI’s Russia and Eurasia Programme moderated the discussion.