Opposition UNM party refuses to participate in election runoff

The opposition United National Movement (UNM) party is refusing to participate in the second round of the municipal elections that took place on Saturday in Georgia.

Yesterday, the party’s political council held a meeting to discuss the issue and announced their decision not to run in the election runoff.

They said the reason is that the elections were held in an "unfair environment”.

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Two UNM candidates – Grigol Vashadze in Kutaisi and Mamuka Danelia in Martvili – had a chance to run in the second round of the mayoral elections after they ranked second in the initial vote this Saturday. In both of these cities, the ruling Georgian Dream candidates led the race but they could not clear the 50 percent threshold, meaning a second round of elections is needed.

According to the election code, the election runoff must take place no later than November 15.

Salome Samadashvili, a UNM member said last night that the UNM political council "made a mistake” when they turned down the "political opportunity” in Kutaisi and Martvili. However, she added that that was what the majority of the council decided.

The Central Election Commission’s preliminary results said that a second round of elections is needed in six municipalities across Georgia. In all other mayoral races, the Georgian Dream candidates won, according to the preliminary data.

• See the preliminary results here.