“Organized criminal gangs are trying to undermine the voting process with aggression and intimidation,” said opposition politician Ana Natsvlishvili.

TBILISI, Georgia — Violence erupted at several polling stations in Georgia on Saturday as voters participated in the country’s crucial parliamentary election.

“They beat us, spit at us, and swore at us,” reported election observer Gela Mtivlishvili from the Akhmeta polling station in eastern Georgia. Earlier, at a different location, he witnessed a coordinator from the ruling Georgian Dream party giving money to a voter.

Reports from journalists and activists indicated multiple physical altercations at polling sites, with opposition leaders attributing the violence to “criminal gangs.”

This parliamentary election is seen as a critical juncture for Georgia, potentially influencing its alignment with the EU or Moscow.

Ana Natsvlishvili of the Strong Georgia party criticized law enforcement for their inaction, asserting that “organized criminal gangs are trying to undermine the voting process with aggression and intimidation.”

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili called on the Interior Ministry to remove criminals from polling stations.

In response, ruling party parliamentary leader Mamuka Mdinaradze suggested that an opposition TV channel might be “staging special operations” to create a false sense of chaos.

In Marneuli, a southern town, a polling station was shut down after a video emerged showing a man, identified as a ruling party representative, stuffing a ballot box with multiple ballots. An investigation into potential “election fraud” was initiated, and Georgia’s Central Election Committee announced that ballots from that station would be invalidated.

As of 3 p.m. Tbilisi time, the Central Election Commission reported a voter turnout of 41.62 percent.