Parliamentary and city council by-elections will be held in the Georgian seaside town of Batumi and the south-eastern city of Rustavi in April, the country's Central Election Commission (CEC) announced on Tuesday.
Voters will elect a majoritarian member of parliament in Rustavi and a majoritarian member of the city council (Sakrebulo) in Batumi.
The by-elections in Batumi will be held as the city council member from the opposition United National Movement (UNM) party, Nugzar Putkaradze, died in November last year, while in Rustavi the vote has been prompted by a vacant seat after former majoritarian MP Nino Latsabidze from the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party was voted as the Rustavi Mayor in local self-government elections in October last year.
Voting will be held at 14 polling stations of Batumi, while in Rustavi and Gardabani a total of 117 polling stations will be opened for citizens to cast their vote.
On April 2, the by-election of the #Parliament of #Georgia and #Sakrebulo (local council) will be held. On 2 April 2022, voters will elect a #majoritarian member of parliament in #Rustavi, and a majoritarian member of Sakrebulo (local council) in #Batumi. pic.twitter.com/jKyYnfLe8H
— CEC of Georgia (@cecgovge) February 1, 2022
In municipal elections 2021, the opposition won the majority in assemblies in seven out of 64 municipalities including Batumi and Rustavi.
Batumi City Council is comprised of 16 GD members and 18 opposition party figures. The latter includes 14 UNM party representatives, two For Georgia party members, one politician from Lelo for Georgia party, and one independent deputy.