Georgias pro-Western president condemns troubling incidents of violence at polling stations with crucial vote underway | National & World [Video]

(CNN) — Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili has condemned “deeply troubling incidents of violence unfolding at various polling stations” as the country votes in a crucial parliamentary election.

Voting opened early Saturday in the election, seen as a stark choice between Russia and the West. The ruling Georgian Dream party, which has in recent years taken a sharp authoritarian turn and stalled the country’s progress toward potential European Union membership, is bidding for re-election.

Activist and monitoring groups shared footage that they said showed ballot stuffing at a polling station in Marneuli, southern Georgia.

Another video showed a man, identified in local media as Azad Karimov – head of the opposition United National Movement (UNM) party’s regional organization – being assaulted by several men outside the polling station in Marneuli’s 69th precinct. Photos showed Karimov with a bloody nose and cuts to his face.

CNN has not verified either video. Voting has been suspended at that …