Georgian opposition loses fight for vacant seat in parliament

The Georgian opposition has lost a drawn out fight for a vacant seat in the country’s parliament.

The second round of the mid-term elections to elect an MP for the Mtatsminda district of Tbilisi has been at the centre of attention for two main reasons.

First – in the presidential elections in Georgia in October-November 2018, the pro-government candidate Salome Zurabishvili won, after a fierce election campaign.

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Second – in May 2019, not a single opposition candidate was able to win in the mayoral elections in several cities.

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Elections for an MP in the Mtatsminda district of Tbilisi were the result of the victory of Salome Zurabishvili in the presidential elections in November 2018, after which she had to cede her spot in parliament.

This was the last opportunity for the opposition to win at least somewhere, ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections in 2020.

The attempt failed.

Rival candidates were Lado Kakhadze from the ruling Georgian Dream party – and Shalva Shavgulidze, who was supported by two parties at once: European Georgia and Free Democrats.

The candidate of the ruling party won, gaining 62% of the vote, while his opponent took just 38%.

According to the Central Election Commission, voter turnout was 41.23%, which exceeded activity in the first round of elections.

The CEC has said there were no significant violations in the voting process.

Journalists and the opposition claim that ruling party members were mobilised to polling stations, where they kept records of voters and also put pressure on them.

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There were also several incidents in which Georgian Dream activists attacked or insulted opposition observers.

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Ruling party

The general secretary of the ruling “Georgian Dream”, the mayor of Tbilisi, Kakha Kaladze, congratulated the pro-governmental candidate on his victory immediately after the closure of the polling stations – that is, before the votes were counted.

“We have once again demonstrated that we are a strong team and, most importantly, we are supported by the Georgian people. And we have the opportunity to manage our country and develop it in the right direction,” said Kakha Kaladze.

Opposition 

The elections were held “by merging power and crime”, member of the European Georgia party Irma Nadirashvili said:

“Today, the ruling party once again demonstrated that it wants the fate of the elections to be decided not at the polling station, but by mobilizing criminals, blackmail and bribery. This is the style of the Georgian Dream.”