Interior Ministry: the elections continue peacefully
Deputy Interior Minister Natia Mezvrishvili says that police are investigating seven election-related incidents. Photo: Interior Ministry press office.
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Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Natia Mezvrishvili has held a briefing where she reported on the election process and incidents in or near polling stations.
Based on the information we have now, the situation at all polling stations is calm.
Police have been called 29 times and we have reacted to the incidents immediately,” Mezvrishvili said.
Mezvrishvili said that 15 reports turned out to be false or did not carry signs of an offense.
- Read the Agenda.ge story to learn why today’s elections are so special.
- See the Agenda.ge election map.
An investigation has been launched into seven incidents in which complainants brought forward claims of physical abuse, damage to property or threats”.
The individuals who have reported the incidents are now fulfilling their duties at polling stations. In order not to hinder the election process, they will be summoned for questioning after the elections are over,” Mezvrishvili said.
She confirmed information that police units are patrolling near polling stations “and not at polling stations as certain media outlets reported this.”
We have stated several times that our employees would patrol at an acceptable distance near polling stations to prevent any type of confrontation and to quickly respond to incidents,” Mezvrishvili said.
Responding to the allegations of the opposition, Mezvrishvili stated that the police will investigate each incident related to possible voter bribing.
38.16% of total voters or 1,337,284 people have cast their votes in the presidential elections. The polls will close at 20 p.m. tonight.
The Central Election Commission has reported that 30.98% of total voters have voted for their favourite presidential candidate so far which amounts to 1,085,730 people.
Police have detained a representative of the Georgian Dream ruling party and a member of the united opposition [supporting presidential candidate Grigol Vashadze] in the village of Imiri of Marneuli region in eastern Georgia as the individuals were verbally and physically fighting with one another at the polling station.
Organisations observing the presidential elections have presented a list of violations that have been reported so far at polling stations.
The Georgian Dream ruling party, the European Georgia opposition party and Rustavi 2 private broadcaster have released the results of exit polls they have conducted. The exit poll results were announced as soon as all polling stations in Georgia were closed at 8 pm.
Prime Minister of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze has thanked voters for turning out to vote today.
Chairman of the Political Council of the Georgian Dream ruling party Bidzina Ivanishvili says that the United National Movement opposition will try to stir election-related confrontations.
The Central Election Commission of Georgia has announced 46,74 percent turnout for eligible voters during the 2018 Presidential Elections in the country.
3,689 of a total of 3,705 polling stations have been counted: the ruling Georgian Dream party supported independent candidate Salome Zurabishvili received 38.6 per cent of the vote and the presidential candidate of ten opposition parties, Grigol Vashadze, received 37.7 per cent.
The Georgian Dream ruling party says that the results of yesterday’s presidential elections carried a message to them from the Georgian people.
The presidential candidate of ten opposition parties Grigol Vashadze, who came second in the presidential race based on the current data of the Central Election Commission, says that it is no time for euphoria as the second round of the elections is still ahead.
The Organisation for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) and its office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) have released their preliminary assessments about the 28 October presidential elections in Georgia.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs is investigating an alleged attack on the members of the United National Movement opposition in eastern Akhalkalaki region today, which is inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians.
The government of Georgia will allocate 10,583,022 GEL [4 million USD] for the November 28 presidential election runoff. The government allocated 42 million GEL for the first round of elections, which was held on 28 October.
Minister of Internal Affairs Giorgi Gakharia guarantees that the runoff elections will be held in a peaceful environment.