Election results and evaluation of the election process in Kareli municipality

Lado Bitchashvili, Shida Kartli 

According to the preliminary results of the local self-government elections, candidate of the ruling party and acting municipal governor Zaza Guliashvili was elected to the Mayor of Kareli municipality; he received 10 450 votes that made up 65,97% of the voters, who participated in the elections. UNM mayoral candidate Nikoloz Akhalkatsi ranked the second place with 18.73%. Mayoral candidate of the election bloc Bakradze-Ugulava European Georgia Marlen Lomitashvili gained 8.87% of the votes and took the third place. Zurab Kveladze of the Alliance of Patriots received 5.4% of votes (855 votes). Mayoral candidate of the Election bloc Giorgi Vashadze, Unity for New Georgia Genadi Mamagulashvili received 1.04% of votes (164 votes). 

In accordance to the preliminary data of the CEC, five election subjects overcame the 4% election barrier in Kareli DEC # 33: European Georgia (10,45%), UNM (18,23%), Alliance of Patriots (5.6%), Georgian Labor Party (4.04%), Georgian Dream Democratic Georgia (58,66%). In addition to the mandates gained through the proportional system, the deputies elected from majoritarian districts will also go into the municipality council. The ruling party will have 16 out of 18 majoritarian candidates; UNM will have one candidate and Democratic Movement - one.

Evaluation of the lection process

“So called Armenian carousel was observed in the Kareli polling station # 3,” Giorgi Marjanidze, independent majoritarian candidate in the Kareli PEC # 3 said. With the election results, he could not enter the Kareli municipality council. 33 bulletins were annulled in the Kareli PEC # 3. 

“They had similar scheme – voters used to take empty bulletins outside the polling station and then they used to bring marked ones back. By 20:00, when the polling station was closed, some voters did not manage to return the bulletins back and finally we observed difference between the ballot papers. One ballot paper is missing in three polling stations each that raise doubt about the so-called Armenian carousel. There is no balance in the final protocol of the Kareli precinct # 3: 532 voters arrived at the precinct and 531 ballot papers were issued; besides that 33 ballot papers were annulled. Supposedly, they annulled the papers of the voters, who supported me,” Marjandze said. 

With regard to the abovementioned fact, registrar Izolda Imerlishvili in the PEC # 4 in Kareli DEC # 33 noted in her notification to the PEC chairperson: “At 16:45 pm I counted the signatures and number of the issued ballot papers; I discovered that I did not have a signature of one voter that was caused by my tiredness; please accept this letter as my clarification.”

According to the chairperson of the Kareli DEC # 33, their commission received three complaints; one of them referred to the re-counting of the votes in the Kareli PEC # 29. Observer of the ISFED lodged the complaint because of annulled 64 ballot papers in the mentioned precinct. The observer requested re-counting of the ballot papers. The Kareli DEC did not satisfy any of the complaints.