Opposition For Georgia mayor candidate's car shot at in Tsageri
For Georgia party members claim the ruling party stands behind the assault. Photo: Natia Mezvrishvili/Twitter
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Besarion Bendeliani, opposition For Georgia party mayor candidate in Tsageri claims his car has been shot at last night.
I went out and saw that my car was damaged, [it was] shot at. There was no sound [although] it is a very densely populated place", Bendeliani said.
He connects the assault with his political activities.
I have a very good support [in Tsageri]. This causes disappointment in the [ruling] Georgian Dream [party], which has lost its face. The State Security Service is especially active", the opposition candidate says.
For Georgia member Natia Mezvrishvili said at a special briefing that the party is practically deprived of the opportunity to carry out an election campaign.
She said the ruling party leaders 'approve of violence' and 'trigger hate speech'.
Mezvrishvili has thus raised the responsibility of the Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri and Chief Prosecutor Irakli Shotadze 'who have done nothing' in all of these months to respond to 'the systemic crime'.
EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell has responded to the recent clash between the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party head Irakli Kobakhidze and the United National Movement (UNM) party leader Nika Melia and has urged ‘all sides to exercise restraint’ ahead of the local self-government elections. "Next week on election day, all Georgian voters should enjoy a peaceful environment, allowing them to exercise their democratic right by casting their ballots freely, safely and without fear of violence or intimidation,” Ambassador Hartzell stated.
The Georgian State Inspector’s Office has fined the country’s Interior Ministry 2,000 GEL for a violation of the personal data law by releasing footage from July 11, 2021 depicting the deceased cameraman of TV Pirveli Lekso Lashkarava.
Tbilisi City Court has obliged the Georgian Interior Ministry to pay victim of the June 20, 2019 Tbilisi protest Luka Petriashvili a total of 35,000 GEL, his lawyer Beka Basilaia has announced earlier today.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party head Irakli Kobakhidze and the United National Movement (UNM) party leader Nika Melia have clashed near the office of the European Union Delegation to Georgia on Chavchavadze Avenue, Tbilisi earlier today after the ruling party finished its meeting with foreign diplomats. Kobakhidze stated that the main topic of the assembly was the election environment, noting that he cannot discuss the details of the meeting.
The ruling Georgian Dream party says opposition United National Movement (UNM) party members in regions are acting in a destructive and provocative manner. Ruling party MP Irakli Chikovani said at a news briefing earlier today that for several days now the UNM representatives have been staging provocations to ‘artificially damage the peaceful and calm election environment’ in various regions.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) has reported earlier today that the cases of pressure, abuse and threat on the district and precinct election commission members have increased ahead of municipal elections. "In some cases, there has been an attempt by observers to overstep their authority to stage a provocation,” a spokesperson of the CEC Natia Ioseliani stated.
A total of 27 criminal cases related to the pre-election period of the October 2 municipal elections are under investigation in Georgia, the Interior Ministry has reported today.
The Georgian interior ministry has launched an investigation after the car of the mayor of north-western Georgia’s Tsalenjikha municipality was found burning during the night between Tuesday and Wednesday.