Nika Gvaramia, the leader of opposition party Coalition for Change, called the result a “great victory” in a news conference at the party’s headquarters.

“The Russian-backed regime of Georgian Dream is finally ended,” he said.

But Bidzina Ivanishvili, the country’s wealthiest oligarch who leads Georgian Dream, also declared victory minutes after the polls closed.

“It is a rare case in the world that the same party achieves such success in such a difficult situation,” Ivanishvili said.

In an interview prior to the announcement, Beka Odisharia, a Georgian Dream member of parliament, predicted it would be “impossible” for the opposition parties to win a majority of the popular vote.

Salome Zourabichvili, Georgia’s president and a critic of Georgian Dream, stated there had been disruption of the vote earlier in the day, appearing to confirm fears of violence that had been raised in the build-up to the landmark election.