Arguments over Georgia election results split country and world

Fierce arguments over Georgia's parliamentary election continued into Monday – inside and outside the country. 

The prime minister accused the opposition of attempting to "shake the constitutional order" after the president called for protests to show "that we do not recognize these elections." 

Meanwhile, international reaction was mixed – with the EU and U.S. questioning alleged voting violations while Russia decried attempts to ignore "the choice of the Georgian people."

The ruling Georgian Dream party clinched nearly 54 percent of the vote, according to the country's election commission. Monitors from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe said they had registered incidents of vote-buying, voter intimidation, and ballot-stuffing that could have affected the outcome, but stopped short of saying the election was rigged.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili – a former ally turned critic of Georgian Dream – claimed that party's vote was closer to 40 percent and urged people to take to the streets on Monday night to protest "that we do not recognize these elections" and called the result a "Russian special operation," without clarifying what she meant by the term.

In response, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused the opposition of attempting to "shake the constitutional order" of the country. He also said his government remained committed to European integration.

Russia angrily denied charges of election interference, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying "We strongly reject such accusations - as you know, they have become standard for many countries. At the slightest thing, they immediately accuse Russia of interference... There was no interference and the accusations are absolutely unfounded."

Peskov described the election result as "the choice of the Georgian people" and said it was the West, not Russia, that was trying to destabilize the situation.

The European Commission urged Georgia to swiftly and transparently investigate alleged irregularities in the vote, as did NATO and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"We encourage Georgia's political leaders to respect the rule of law, repeal legislation that undermines fundamental freedoms, and address deficiencies in the electoral process together," Blinken said.