Final results of presidential elections released

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.

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 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.

"We received a clear message about our mistakes from our people, as well as about the expectations they have towards us regarding concrete challenges, the challenges which bother them and their families. We have seen much from the elections, we have seen that many things need to be changed in the shortest terms,” Bakhtadze said.

EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Maja Kocijancic has stated that according to the preliminary conclusions of the OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission, the 28 October presidential elections in Georgia were "competitive and professionally administered", giving Georgian voters a genuine voice.

Georgian Deputy Interior Minister Natia Mezvrishvili says that 15 individuals have been charged for 28 October election-related violations.

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.

Independent presidential candidate supported by the Georgian Dream ruling party Salome Zurabishvili says she is ready for runoffs at a briefing today.

The number of Georgians who have registered at Georgian embassies and consulates abroad in order to vote during the presidential election has reached 1,400, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today.

Former Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili who resigned earlier this year has released a special statement in which he appeals to the Georgian people to “preserve the values they voted for in 2012”.

Former members of parliament and citizens of Batumi have founded a movement called Angry Batumelebi.

Ruling Georgian Dream party supported independent presidential candidate Salome Zurabishvili has visited the village of Atotsi, where Russia-controlled forces began the erection of new barbed wire fences on 7 November.

Heads of the EU and UNDP representations in Georgia have evaluated the election environment ahead of the presidential runoff and mentioned high competition, a democratic election process but that the election campaign period has included aggression.

The second round of Georgia’s presidential elections will be held on November 28, according to the decision of the Central Election Commission which was announced today.

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.

Head of the Service Development Agency of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia Soso Giorgadze says NGO allegations that fake ID documents are being printed to engineer the upcoming presidential elections are “absurd and invented.”

"I am happy that I see ministers, presidential candidates in the cathedral on the Saint George’s day. I am sure that you [presidential candidates] will meet both victory and failure similarly. The one who will win should not think that he/she is better than others. I am sure that you will stand together and help each other,” Ilia II stated and handed the icons of Saint George to the candidates.

PM Bakhtadze says that the second round of the presidential elections will be held in accordance with the ‘highest standards’. Bakhtadze’s response followed the assessment of the former President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Rasa Jukneviciene.

The de facto Security Committee of the occupied region of South Ossetia is going to close the so-called border during the second round of Georgia's presidential elections.

Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze has stated today that holding the elections in a free, fair and transparent environment has turned into a tradition under the Georgian Dream government since 2012.

The inauguration ceremony of the fifth president of Georgia will be held on 16 December based on the Georgian Constitution.

Prime Minister of Georgia has voted at the polling station in Didube district of Tbilisi saying he has made his choice in favor of Georgia’s peaceful development towards Europe.

Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili has voted today and called on voters throughout Georgia to go out to the polls.

The ruling Georgian Dream party endorsed presidential candidate Salome Zurabishvili and the opposition candidate Grigol Vashadze have already cast their votes in the presidential election runoff.

The Georgian Interior Ministry has stated that 26 people in total have been charged with election-related offences, which took place on the 28 November presidential election day and afterwards.

Mikheil Sarjveladze, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Committee on Human Rights, on Tuesday said the call by the opposition political party For Georgia for the President to be elected by citizens instead of the electoral college was “wrong” as the constitution “cannot be tailored to some political process”.