According to preliminary official results, the most influential person won the parliamentary elections in Georgia, although the opposition politicians do not recognize this victory and claim that the elections were rigged, Reuters writes.

The publication notes that the billionaire founder of the ruling party "Georgian Dream" Bidzina Ivanishvili, the opposition and foreign diplomats evaluate the elections as a watershed moment that will decide whether Georgia will move closer to the West or retreat to Russia.

"If confirmed, the victory of "Georgian Dream" will be a blow to those Georgians who hope for closer integration with Europe in the vote, which was announced as a choice between the West and Russia," writes Reuters.

The BBC also reports on the parliamentary elections in Georgia and writes that the ruling party of Georgia, which is becoming more and more authoritarian, has declared victory after preliminary results showed that it is clearly in the lead in a crucial election focused on the country's future in Europe.

The BBC writes that the preliminary results differ sharply from the exit polls, and the head of one of the opposition parties said that "the votes of the Georgian people were stolen.

"The publication notes that Georgia was granted the status of a candidate country in December, but due to democratic setbacks, in particular, the adoption of a Russian-style "foreign influence" law, the European Union suspended this step.

"The USSR ceased to exist more than three decades ago, but Moscow still considers much of the old Soviet empire to be its backyard and Russia's sphere of influence," writes the BBC.