Hungary’s Orbán boosts Georgia’s ruling party over election despite an outcry the vote was rigged

Associated Press

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has given a boost to Georgia’s ruling party. He says Georgian Dream’s victory in a parliamentary election in the South Caucasus nation was free and democratic despite a massive opposition protest that denounced the vote as rigged and illegitimate. Orbán, who is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest partner in the European Union, is the first foreign leader to visit Georgia following Saturday’s vote that the country’s electoral commission said was won by Georgian Dream. Georgia’s president and opposition allege the election was “stolen” with the help of Russia, claiming there was widespread ballot fraud and violence, with the EU and the U.S. calling for a full investigation.