Municipal Elections 2017: 16.5% voter turnout by 12pm

In Georgia 567,699 voters throughout the country cast their vote in the Municipal Elections by 12pm this afternoon.

Voter turnout was 16.5 percent at 12pm - four hours after polling stations opened across the country, said the Central Election Commission (CEC) in its latest media update.

The highest voter turnout was evident in Georgia's Racha-Lechkhumi region (27.9 percent) and the lowest in Shida Kartli region (13.9 percent).

The voter turnout by 12pm was the following:

• Tbilisi – 139,220 voters (14.8 percent)
• Imereti – 93,019 (17.3 percent)
• Samegrelo- Zemo Svaneti – 62,204 (18.1 percent)
• Kvemo Kartli – 62,313 (15.9 percent)
• Kakheti – 50,668 (16.7 percent)
• Adjara – 49,041 (16 percent)
• Shida Kartli – 32,842 (13.9 percent)
• Samtskhe-Javakheti – 29,487 (20.3 percent)
• Guria – 25,205 (22.9 percent)
• Mtskheta-Mtianeti - 13,967 (16.2 percent)
• Racha-Lechkhumi – 9,733 (27.9 percent)

The CEC release a statement about alleged violations that have been reported at several polling stations. The report said that some election observers collected names, surnames, and registration numbers of voters who had already cast their ballots. The reporters thought that it was a violation, but the CEC explained that this kind of information is public, meaning no personal data has been released and no violation has taken place.

Today, October 21, is election day in Georgia, when the country will vote for 2,058 members of 64 city councils (sakrebulo) and 64 municipal mayors.

The polling stations opened at 8am this morning for about 3.44 million eligible voters.