WORLD
Incumbent Tbilisi mayor leads mayoral polls in Georgian capital — election authority
Baku, October 31, AZERTAC
With approximately 97% of ballots counted, incumbent Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze is getting 55.6% of the vote in the Georgian capital’s mayoral election, the country's Central Election Commission said on Sunday.
His rival, Nika Melia of the opposition United National Movement party, got 44.4% of votes.
According to the CEC, candidates of the ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party, are in the lead in four other major cities of Georgia - Batumi, Kutaisi, Poti and Rustavi.
Ruling party members are also winning municipal elections in 14 Georgian towns. The only exception is Tsalenjikha, the administrative center of an eponymous district in the Georgian region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti.
On Saturday, Georgians voted to elect mayors in 20 municipalities, including the capital Tbilisi and major cities of Batumi, Kutaisi, Poti and Rustavi. The first round of the elections took place on October 2. The ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party claimed a decisive victory in 44 out of 64 Georgian municipalities. The runoff was scheduled for October 30 in the remaining 20.
The polls were monitored by 100 domestic and 52 international organizations. The voting process was covered by over 3,700 journalists from local and foreign media outlets.