Second Round of Local Elections in Georgia

Today, the second round of local self-government (LSG) elections is being held in several regions of Georgia. Polling stations opened at 08:00 in the morning for voters. This was reported by Aliq.ge.

In the second round, 1,830 polling stations will serve voters. Special polling stations have also been established to ensure participation for those voters who are in quarantine or self-isolation.

The second round of local elections is taking place in five major cities: Tbilisi, Poti, Rustavi, Kutaisi, and Batumi, as well as in 15 municipalities and 24 electoral districts. Citizens are voting for 20 mayors and 42 members of councils on a majoritarian basis.

It is notable that in the first round held in the aforementioned areas, none of the candidates surpassed the required 50% threshold, which necessitated the second round of elections.

Additionally, it is important to mention that the opposition has united ahead of the second round of LSG elections. Specifically, the leader of the opposition United National Movement party, Tbilisi mayoral candidate Nika Melia, has nominated some of the candidates from the opposition. According to Melia, the path to solving all issues is through diversity. He notes that for the first time in history, there will be a coalition team in Tbilisi's local self-government bodies.

The voter turnout in the first round of LSG elections was 51.92%, meaning 1,815,776 voters fulfilled their civic duty. The first round of LSG elections took place on October 2nd.