President Zurabishvili confirms October 2 for local self-government elections
Local self-government elections will be held on October 2, 2021 in Georgia. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has confirmed October 2 as the date of local self-government elections of Georgia.
Several hours before Zurabishvili confirmed the election date, the Georgian parliament elected Giorgi Kalandarishvili as the new chair of the Central Election Commission for a six-month term on August 3.
On July 28, the ruling Georgian Dream party annulled its signatory status to the April 19 EU-mediated agreement which resolved a six-month political crisis in the country following the 2020 parliamentary elections and proposed large-scale electoral and judiciary reforms.
Head of the ruling party Irakli Kobakhidze said that the agreement ‘had completed its mission’ and accused opposition parties of non-fulfilment of the agreement.
Kobakhidze also said holding the October 2 municipal elections under the EU-mediated agreement while opposition parties refuse to sign it would be ‘harmful to Georgia’s interests’.
Irakli Kobakhidze noted that the ruling party is ready to ‘show goodwill’ and accept the conduct of repeat parliamentary elections even if they receive 53 per cent of total votes in the municipal elections, instead of 43 per cent as was proposed in the EU-mediated agreement.
Members of the Girchi and Citizens opposition parties which have won six seats in the 150-member parliament in the October 31 elections met earlier today to discuss the current political crisis and made an offer to other opposition parties.
The International Republican Institute (IRI) has released the results of a nationwide poll which revealed that 75 per cent of Georgians are very likely to vote in the upcoming municipal elections. 25 per cent of the voters who are not likely to participate in the local elections say that they ‘do not have confidence in the electoral process.’
The ruling Georgian Dream party has annulled its signatory status to the April 19 EU-mediated agreement which resolved a six-month political crisis in the country following the 2020 parliamentary elections and proposed large-scale electoral and judiciary reforms.Head of the ruling Georgian Dream party Irakli Kobakhidze stated earlier today that the agreement initiated by the European Council President Charles Michel ‘had completed its mission’ and accused opposition parties of non-fulfilment of the agreement.
Significant shortcomings were not found in the parliamentary elections of October 31, 2020, the temporary parliamentary commission created to study the matter stated earlier today. The Georgian parliament established the temporary commission earlier this year to investigate allegations of parliamentary election violations, which caused a six-month political standoff in the country and was largely solved following the EU-mediated agreement on April 19.
An opposition political party For Georgia has made an official decision to participate in the 2021 local self-government elections.
Georgia is at a crossroads with the challenge of the latest wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and continued political polarisation ahead of municipal elections in October, President Salome Zurabishvili said in an address she released on Tuesday.
Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia) and International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED) have left consultations to select members for the Georgian Central Election Commission’s advisory group for election disputes.
The survey conducted by the research organisation in the Caucasus region Gorbi, commissioned by TV channel Imedi, has reported that 46.8 per cent of Georgians would vote for the ruling Georgian Dream party if the local municipal elections were held today.
The European Georgia, Girchi - More Freedom and Movement Droa will nominate joint majoritarian candidates in Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi for the upcoming October 2 local municipal elections on August 15. Droa movement Leader Elene Khoshtaria stated that the municipal elections are ‘special elections, which is essentially a referendum,’ noting that the opposition understands its responsibility before the Georgian population to propose the choice which will ‘give them [Georgian citizens] faith.’
The opposition United National Movement (UNM) party members claim the ruling Georgian Dream party is bribing voters ahead of local self-government elections and filed a lawsuit against the party. The opposition leaders noted that they have audio and video footage that proves the crime, noting that in Georgia there is ‘selective justice.’
Georgian central and district commission members have signed a code of ethics ahead of the upcoming October 2 municipal elections in Georgia, promising to remain fair, impartial and independent.
There are 3,540,609 potential voters in the updated list which was handed over to the Central Election Commission (CEC) by the Public Service Development Agency (PSDA) today.
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) says the political landscape is ‘highly polarized’ in Georgia ahead of the upcoming October 2 local self-government elections. The OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission (EOM) published its interim report on September 17.