Plots for voting in the municipal elections opened in Georgia on Saturday at 08:00 local time (coincides with Baku). Voting will last until 20:00. Residents of the country have to choose heads of urban and district meetings, as well as mayors of 64 municipalities, including Tbilisi. In total, 43 parties take part in the election, TASS reports.
One of the main intrigues of these elections will be a rivalry for the post of mayor of Tbilisi. 16 candidates claim this position. The faversites of the race are the operating mayor of the Georgian capital from the ruling party “Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia” Kakha Kaladze, a deputy, chairman of the opposition party “Unified National Movement” Nika Melia and Ex-Prime Minister of Georgia, the leader of the party “For Georgia” Georgy Gahariya.
On the day of voting in the republic, more than 3.7 thousand polling stations opened. Elections will be considered at any appearance.
Election Exodus will determine the fate of the ruling party and the Georgian government. In accordance with the agreement, which, with the mediation of the head of the European Council of Charles Michel, concluded in the spring “Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia” with the opposition to exit the crisis, if the ruling party is not able to gain 43% of the votes in common country, it undertakes to appoint extraordinary parliamentary elections in the spring 2022 of the year. Later, the head of the ruling party Irakli Kobahidze said that he was coming out of this agreement, but in the opposition they declare that the party of power would still have to conduct new elections to parliament, if it does not get agreed 43% in municipal elections on Saturday.
The founder of the ruling party “Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia” and the ex-prime minister of Bijin Ivanishvili has already voted in the election, Sputnik said Georgia. Ivanishvili came to the polling station number 4 in the Mtatsmind area along with his wife. Despite the interest of media representatives, he did not answer the questions of journalists. Ex-Prime Minister who previously announced the exit from politics, left the territory of the polling station without comment.
Chairman of the Georgian Parliament Kakha Kuchava also voted one of the first.