//The Wire//2300Z October 28, 2024//

//ROUTINE//

//BLUF: ELECTION INTEGRITY ISSUES HEIGHTEN TENSIONS AROUND THE WORLD.//

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-International Events-

Georgia: Over the weekend the Parliamentary election has caused tensions to rise throughout eastern Europe following the questionable election results. The incumbent President, Salome Zourabichvili has rejected the results of the election (which indicated that she lost by a wide margin), and has deliberately called on citizens to take to the streets in support of her.

Germany: This afternoon Volkswagen announced plans to close three major factories throughout the country amid downsizing efforts. Local media indicates tens of thousands of employees are to be laid off, and most other auto factories to reduce production.

-HomeFront-

United States: Various election integrity issues have continued to mount following multiple attacks on election drop boxes around the country. Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA reported incendiary devices being placed inside ballot drop boxes overnight. AC: This is not entirely out of the realm of reality for the region, as these types of attacks are to be expected on any given day, but especially during times of increased political tensions.

Nevada: A judge ruled this afternoon that mail-in ballots arriving up to three days after the election must be counted. The ballots are also not required to have a postmark, in violation of existing election law.

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Analyst Comments: The tensions in Georgia largely boil down to the typical proxy-by-ballot conflict between the east and the west. Zourabichvili is the pro-EU, western-backed candidate, whereas her opposition (Bidzina Ivanishvili of the Georgian Dream Party) has a long history of being aligned with Russia. The Georgian Dream party largely controlled Parliament for many years (sometimes with a controlling majority, sometimes in a coalition with other parties), until 2018 when Zourabichvili became President as an independent candidate, largely on a pro-EU ticket. Now, this election has allegedly unseated her, signaling a desire to return to more pro-Russian culture. Supporters of Zourabichvili allege that the election was rigged by Russian forces to unseat her, whereas the power-players within the Georgian Dream party largely take the position that the Georgian people tried a western-backed approach to national leadership, and didn’t approve of it. What the true results of the election are will likely never be known with any certainty, as the entire eastern European region (but especially Georgia) is not known for its resounding election integrity. However, as conflict in Georgia always has the potential to be solved with an AK-47 instead of a ballot, the grumblings of those on either side of the political issue should be considered as both the east and west fight for control…and open old wounds in the process.

Analyst: S2A1

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