Ex-pm, For Georgia leader Gakharia: ‘These elections were neither free, nor fair’
Casting his ballot on October 30 Giorgi Gakharia told journalists he voted ‘for Georgia,’ but not for any candidate. Photo: PM's press office archive
Tweet 
Share
Former Georgian prime minister Giorgi Gakharia, who now chairs the opposition For Georgia party, says the October 30 municipal run-offs were ‘neither free, nor fair’.
Giorgi Gakharia has tweeted:
These elections were neither free, nor fair. We need to seriously think about the use of money and abuse of administrative resources in the elections. Political neutrality of public sector has to be guaranteed. Otherwise, voting risks becoming a meaningless show.#Gvote2021
— Giorgi Gakharia (@GakhariaGiorgi) October 31, 2021
Gakharia, who left the prime minister’s post and the ruling Georgian Dream party earlier this year, also ran for Tbilisi mayor in the first round of the municipal elections on October 2 but ended the race third.
Municipal run-offs were held in 20 of 64 election constituencies, including all five big cities of Georgia - Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Rustavi, Batumi and Poti.
The official results of the 2021 municipal election run-offs in Georgia show that the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) mayoral candidates have won in 19 municipalities, while the opposition contender has won in just one.
Incumbent Tbilisi mayor and the ruling party candidate Kakha Kaladze took 55.6% of the votes over the UNM’s Nika Melia, while the UNM candidate Giorgi Kharchilava won in Tsalenjikha with 51.11% over the GD’s Goga Gulordava. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
Claiming that the election results were fabricated, Georgian opposition leaders gathered in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi with their supporters to protest the results of the October 30 run-offs.
They announced rallies in the cities of Batumi, Kutaisi, and Zugdidi, in addition to the massive demonstration in Tbilisi scheduled for November 7.