Georgian authorities and opposition blame each other of election provocations

Several skirmishes have broken out during local elections in Batumi and Zugdidi. Members of the ruling "Georgian Dream" Party and the opposition have exchanged accusations of trying to interfere with observers' work.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that today Georgia is holding the second round of voting at elections to local self-governments; observers note a low voter turnout.

A clash of observers occurred at Polling Station No. 20 in Zugdidi. According to the oppositionist, near the polling station, some strangers were seen, who were sitting in a car, holding voters' lists and a certain amount of money. When the observer tried to clear out the situation, a skirmish broke out, the "Fortuna" Radio has quoted the oppositionist, Cecil Chitanava, today, whose words were translated by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The police who arrived at the venue took away two people to the police station. Later, members of the "Georgian Dream" headquarters came to the venue and spoke orally to other observers. By this time, the conflict had been settled, the report says.

After the start of the voting, a conflict also broke out at Polling Station No. 17 in Batumi. According to several observers, a representative of the "United National Movement" (UNM) Party tried to control the actions of voters at the polling station and check their documents, the "Rustavi-2" TV Channel, whose broadcast was watched by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, has reported today.

Representatives of the "Georgian Dream' Party spoke out against the oppositionist's actions. The chairperson of the district election commission also arrived at the venue and asked this person to leave the territory, the TV Channel has reported.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 30, 2021 at 12:21 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.