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00:00As parliamentary elections in Georgia approach, voters are facing a pivotal choice over the
00:05fundamental question of the future course of their country.
00:09Memories are fresh of a 2008 war with Russia over the Moscow-backed breakaway regions of
00:15Abkhazia and South Ossetia ending in Georgia's defeat.
00:19Among its 3.7 million residents, there are those who will vote in the hope their choice
00:24will steer Georgia towards closer ties with Western Europe.
00:28The E.U. granted Georgia official candidate status last December.
00:32I want Europe so that my grandchildren can get an education and live in European Georgia,
00:39so that they're independent, so that their education is valued, and so that our young
00:43people don't have to go to Europe to get an education.
00:48The ruling party in the country is called Georgian Dream and was founded by billionaire
00:52Bidzina Ivanishvili.
00:55It's been in power for 12 years.
00:57Ivanishvili vows to ban opposition groups if his party wins on Saturday.
01:03The party came to power as pro-E.U., but relations with Brussels are now strained over a foreign
01:09influence law introduced in May.
01:11Accession talks are suspended.
01:13In September, Georgian Dream introduced a law curbing LGBT rights.
01:18Critics say both pieces of legislation are inspired by Russia.
01:24Georgia Dream is running on a vow to ensure peace.
01:27Its campaign billboards contrast images of Georgia and Ukraine, suggesting that if the
01:32pro-Western opposition wins, it will lead to war.
01:36Here in a town near the border with South Ossetia, that message resounds with many.
01:44I think the first thing that will happen is that we'll get sucked into war.
01:49We have already been through one war in 2008, and if there's another one, we won't have
01:55economic development.
02:00There has been a tense political atmosphere in the run-up to the vote, with protests in
02:04the capital.
02:05Analysts warn that the situation is tenuous.
02:08I hope that we can avoid mass escalation if the government pulls all the stops and cracks
02:13down on protesters with Moscow's support.
02:16What worries me is the police calling Moscow and actually asking them to do what they pledged
02:22they would do, and that is to stand by the Georgian Dream.
02:24We cannot rule anything out.
02:27Georgian Dream says it remains committed to EU membership.
02:31Brussels and others will be following the vote closely, as Georgia's future hangs in
02:36the balance.