In Georgia there is no end in sight to the domestic political crisis. In the local elections, there was no decision on mayor posts. It only falls later in the second round.
In the local elections in Georgia in the South Caucasus, overshadowed by a political crisis, the ruling party Georgian Dream won, according to official information. After counting almost all ballot papers, she achieved 46.6 percent, as the election commission announced.
The largest opposition party United National Movement of the arrested ex-President Mikhail Saakashvili came to 30.7 percent. In many mayoral elections, however, a runoff election is necessary.
The arrest of the former head of state is causing tensions with Ukraine. As President of Ukraine, he is constantly campaigning for the return of compatriots, said President Volodymyr Selenskyj. “Mikhail Saakashvili is a Ukrainian citizen, and that also applies to him.” All the institutions were working on the case. The ex-president, wanted by arrest warrant, was picked up by police on Friday in an apartment in Tbilisi after years in exile.
According to the Interior Ministry, he is being investigated for illegally crossing the border. He had been convicted of abuse of office. Saakashvili is a consultant in Ukraine. The Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili promised that his country would answer all questions from abroad.
Saakashvili was sentenced to several prison terms after being voted out of office in 2013. He was President of Georgia from 2004 to 2013 and implemented pro-Western reforms. After the August War he started in 2008, Russia recognized the breakaway Georgian territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. He had announced his return to his home country in the past few days.
The arrest caused unrest during the vote on Saturday. The election of new mayors and local parliaments was seen as an important test of sentiment for the ruling party and the United National Movement. The opposition had also announced in advance that the outcome should decide on new protests. It was initially peaceful on Sunday. The police spoke of a mostly calm election process. In individual cases there were fights.
Since the parliamentary elections in autumn last year, the situation in the country on the Black Sea with 3.7 million inhabitants has been tense. After the victory of the ruling party, the opposition complained of forgeries and boycotted the work of the parliament.
The chairman of the Georgian Dream party, Irakli Kobachidze, spoke of a “convincing victory”. However, a runoff election is necessary in major cities such as the metropolis of Tifli (Tbilisi) because the applicants did not achieve the required absolute majority. This means that there will be no end to the domestic political crisis in the ex-Soviet republic anytime soon. The opposition emphasized that many of their candidates were ahead.
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