Georgian PM: we must hold Covid-safe elections
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has urged the candidates of the ruling party in the October 2 municipal elections to receive the coronavirus vaccine. Photo: Irakli Garibashvili’s Facebook page.
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has stated that the country must hold the October 2 municipal elections in a safe environment amid the coronavirus pandemic and has announced a meeting with the leadership of the country’s Central Election Commission (CEC) in the coming days.
Garibashvili said earlier today that the upcoming meeting with the CEC leadership will concern the vaccination of the election administration and commission employees.
He urged the ruling Georgian Dream candidates in the elections to wear facemasks during meetings with voters and also encouraged voters to do so.
Giorgi #Kalandarishvili became the Chairperson of the Central Election Commission (#CEC) of Georgia. Mr. Kalandarishvili has already met with Giorgi #Sharabidze, Acting CEC Chairperson, during which Mr. Sharabidze handed over the Chairperson’s authority.
— CEC of Georgia (@cecgovge) August 3, 2021
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55 political parties and initiative groups have requested participation in the elections.
The CEC has already granted election numbers to 50 political parties.
The ruling party will still hold the number 41 in the elections and the United National Movement opposition party will go by the number five.
25 will be the election number of former Georgian former PM Giorgi Gakharia’s party For Georgia.
Strategy Agmashenebeli has changed its name for these elections to ‘the Third Force’ and will run in the race with the number one.
#Opposition Party Representative Elected as Deputy Chairperson by the #CEC for the First Time
— CEC of Georgia (@cecgovge) August 4, 2021
Giorgi #Sioridze, who was appointed to the CEC by Political Union “#Lelo for Georgia”, was voted in by 15 members of the commission, while two abstained.
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According to the EU-mediated agreement which was signed by the ruling party and the majority of opposition parties back in April 2021, the Georgian Dream would have been obliged to accept repeat parliamentary elections if it received less than 43 per cent of votes in the municipal elections.
However, the ruling party has recently backed out from the agreement and said that no early elections will take place until the scheduled one in 2024.
The Georgian Dream ‘is sure’ they will receive more than 50 per cent of votes in the elections.