Opposition Notes High Turnout in Primaries

Outdoor precinct in Tbilisi’s Isani district.

The election commission, set up by the opposition parties to administer primary elections, announced that more than 11,000 voters cast their ballot in primaries held on September 17 in four single-mandate constituencies.

“It is more than we expected,” MP Zviad Dzidziguri said after all 92 polling stations were after closed at 6 pm local time.

The election commission is expected to announce results of the first-ever primaries held in Georgia on September 19.

The opposition New Rights, Conservative, Freedom and Labor Party agreed in early August to hold primaries to nominate single candidates for the MP by-elections, which will be held in five majoritarian (single mandate constituency) seats on October 1.

Primaries were held in four constituencies. The opposition parties have reached an agreement to nominate Jimsher Jincharadze of the Conservative Party, as the opposition’s single candidate for the Kobuleti constituency in Adjara, hence no primaries are held in Kobuleti.

Candidates from New Rights, Conservative and Freedom parties were competing in these primaries. The Labor Party did not nominate its candidate, as it refused to participate in the MP by-elections.

“It was a surprise even for us. We did not expect such a high turnout. For example: 4000 voters cast ballot in Tkibuli, which is almost half of all eligible voters there [about 13,500 voters are registered in Tkibuli],” MP Dzidziguri said.

President Saakashvili downplayed the primaries and said while answering a journalists question to comment that he was not even aware about these primaries.

“I have much more serious things to do, I am not occupied with these kinds of games,” Saakashvili said.

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