Municipal Elections 2021: 33.18% voter turnout by 3 p.m.
The Central Election Commission will start vote counting after all of the polling stations close at 8 p.m. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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A total of 1,160,413 voters (33.18 per cent of eligible voters) have cast their ballots in the Georgian municipal elections as of 3 p.m. today.
Georgia’s Central Election Commission says that Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti is still the most active constituency where 47.5 per cent of registered voters have cast their vote.
The least active is the Kvemo Kartli region where 30.3 per cent of registered voters have cast their vote so far.
Meanwhile, during the 2017 municipal elections 29.84 per cent of eligible voters had cast their ballots as of 3 p.m., while during last year’s parliamentary elections the voter turnout stood at 36.45 per cent.
The Georgian Interior Ministry says the public order is being maintained throughout the country to ensure that citizens can cast their ballot in free and safe environment. Ministry representative Natia Kovziashvili said at a news briefing that the ministry representatives are in close communication with the local and international non-government organisations as well as the Public Defender’s Office.
Head of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party Nika Melia, who is running for Tbilisi mayor, has stated that the opposition is winning the municipal elections and urged voters to actively participate in the race to ‘boost the difference’ in the votes received by the ruling party and the opposition.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has cast her ballot in today’s municipal elections and said that she voted for depolarisation. "Local elections are a chance for people to choose who will make decisions on some of the issues closest to them. Polarisation has no room in local elections. I voted for depolarisation", she said.
“I have voted for the peaceful and stable development of our country”, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said after casting his ballot in today’s municipal elections. PM Garibashvili said the Georgian population needs to overcome poverty, have more jobs, welfare and unity.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili says that the ruling Georgian (GD) party is winning a ‘convincing victory’ in all municipalities in the elections and urged voters to actively participate in the race to ‘strengthen our victory.’ At a briefing earlier today Garibashvili said that ‘today we are able to finally defeat polarisation, destruction, hatred and lies in Georgian politics.’
A Georgian Dream press briefing hours before the closing of polling stations across Georgia alleged a "mobilisation" by opposition supporters at voting locations, while also claiming cases of "misinformation" around the voting process on Saturday.
The vote count will be taped in 3,200 polling stations during the October 2 municipal elections in Georgia for the first time as part of an additional transparency measure, spokesperson of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia Natia Ioseliani has stated. "Video recordings will be promptly uploaded to the internet on the Google Drive platform. Video cameras will also be used to record the recounting procedure as well. As a result of electoral reform it will be implemented for the first time this year,” said Ioseliani.
Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia) says that its more than 300 representatives observing yesterday’s municipal elections in Georgia have recorded about 160 minor and serious violations on the election day across the country.