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Round-Up of Local Elections’ Preliminary Results

The June 15 local elections have not yet been finalized as repeat vote is scheduled this Sunday in 14 polling stations and re-count of votes have been ordered either by courts or election administration in 51 precincts.

There will be second round runoffs in at least 21 localities (runoffs for mayor in 8 cities and runoffs for gamgebeli in 13 municipalities), but the date will only be set after election administrations across the country summarize final vote tallies and after all the court adjudications into disputed polling stations are over.

Date for runoffs may fall sometime between mid-July and late July. Setting of different dates for second round runoffs for various localities is also a possibility. 

Below is a round-up of the June 15 vote results as they stand for June 25.

Georgian Dream

The Georgian Dream ruling coalition is set to win majority of seats in all 71 municipal and city councils (Sakrebulo) across the country; its candidates won mayoral races outright in the first round in four cities and its candidates are in second round runoffs in eight other self-governed cities.

GD’s nationwide party-list vote result stands at 50.83%, which is down by 11 percentage points garnered by the ruling coalition’s presidential candidate in election eight months ago.

GD candidates are winning races for gamgebeli (municipal executive) in 46 out of 59 municipalities and its candidates are in runoffs in rest of the 13 municipalities.

In 27 out of 71 Sakrebulo party-list races, GD garnered less than 50% of votes.

GD scored its best result for party-list vote in Dedoplistskaro and Sachkhere municipalities, 84.46% and 82.9%, respectively. Dedoplistskaro is native district of PM Irakli Garibashvili, who is also GD coalition leader and Sachkhere is native district of ex-PM Bidzina Ivanishvili.

GD’s worst results in party-list vote were in the towns of Gori (36.09%) and Mtskheta (38.88%).

Out of total 1,049 majoritarian seats (in single-mandate constituencies), which were up for grabs in all 71 Sakrebulos, GD candidates won over 800.
 
United National Movement (UNM)

UNM’s nationwide aggregate party-list vote is the second best after GD with 22.41%, almost the same UNM’s presidential candidate garnered in election eight months ago (21.72%).

UNM endorsed its members through party-list, proportional system in all but one Sakrebulos across the country. UNM failed to clear 4% threshold, required for endorsing members to Sakrebulo, in Kazbegi, the smallest municipality in Georgia by number of voters (5,242).

UNM scored second best result in party-list contests in 55 Sakrebulos, but other parties, apart of GD, outstripped UNM in races for party-list seats in 16 Sakrebulos.

Municipalities where UNM is on the third place in the party-list contest are: Lagodekhi; Bolnisi; Tsalka; Gori municipal and Gori city Sakrebulos; Borjomi; Akhalkalaki; Oni; Lanchkhuti; Martvili (where UNM and Burjanadze’s coalition are nearly tied with 21.29% and 21.88%, respectively) and Vani. 

UNM is on the fourth place for party-list seats in Sakrebulos of Lentekhi and Ozurgeti municipalities and fifth in Dusheti and Tianeti; in Mtskheta municipal Sakrebulo UNM is only on the seventh place with 4.59% of votes – city council in Mtskheta will be one of the most diverse in the country as seven political groups will have proportional representation there.

UNM scored its best result in Zugdidi municipality, where the opposition party garnered 40.48% of votes in party-list contest.

Other localities where UNM had much better result than its nationwide average are: Khoni (37.22%); town of Zugdidi (34.37%); Terjola (34.1%); Akhaltsikhe (31.58%); Tskaltubo (31.49%); Chkhorotsku (31.35%) and Tsalenjikha (30.23%).

Out of 8 cities where second round runoffs for mayoral offices will be held, UNM’s candidates remain in race in 4 cities – Tbilisi, Rustavi, Batumi and Telavi.

Out of 13 municipalities where according to preliminary official results races for gamgebeli (municipal executive) posts are going into second round, UNM candidates will be standing in the runoffs in five municipalities: Kvareli; Telavi; Terjola; Khoni and Kobuleti.
 
Burjanadze-United Opposition

Nino Burjanadze-led coalition United Opposition’s nationwide party-list vote result stands at 10.23% – almost the same as Burjanadze’s result when she was a presidential candidate in election eight months ago (10.19%).

In the local elections Burjanadze herself was not running for any post or Sakrebulo seat; Tbilisi mayoral candidate, nominated by the United Opposition, Dimitri Lortkipanidze, garnered 12.82%.

United Opposition won majoritarian seats in 28 single-mandate constituencies out of total 1,049 across the country and cleared 4% threshold, required for endorsing members in Sakrebulos in party-list proportional contest, in 66 districts. United Opposition was not participating in party-list race in one municipality – Gardabani.

In Tbilisi Sakrebulo the United Opposition is likely to take 3 seats all obtained through party-list proportional system after receiving 10.35% of votes.

Burjanadze’ coalition failed to clear threshold only in four municipalities; as a result it won’t have party-list proportional representation in Sakrebulos of following municipalities: Zugdidi, Dedoplistskaro, Akhaltsikhe and Ninotsminda.

Out of 13 municipalities where second round runoffs for gamgebeli posts will be held, candidates from Burjanadze’s coalition will face GD’s candidates in four municipalities – Martvili, Tkibuli, Akhmeta and Tianeti.
 
Alliance of Patriots

Alliance of Patriots of Georgia garnered 6.34 % in party-list vote in Tbilisi and will have two seats in the capital city’s new Sakrebulo (City Council), according to preliminary official results. Its Tbilisi mayoral candidate, Irma Inashvili, received 5.37% of votes.

Alliance of Patriots ran in party-list contest for Sakrebulo seats in 47 out of 71 municipalities and cities and its aggregate vote result stands at 4.72%.

It cleared 4% threshold in 30 out of those 47 municipalities and cities, where the party submitted its party lists for proportional representation, meaning that the Alliance of Patriots will have representatives in 30 Sakrebulos, including Tbilisi.

Among those municipalities and cities where the Alliance of Patriots failed to clear 4% threshold are Signagi; Lagodekhi; Telavi municipality; Marneuli; Bolnisi; Tsalka; city of Gori and Gori municipality; Akhaltsikhe city and Akhaltsikhe municipality; Mestia; Kharagauli; Sachkhere; Zestaponi; Samtredia; Abasha and Keda.

Mayoral candidates nominated by the Alliance of Patriots succeeded in going into second round in two cities and will face GD candidates in the runoffs in Poti and Ozurgeti.

Its candidates for gamgebeli (municipal executive) posts will face GD candidates in Lanchkhuti and Khulo municipalities in the second round runoffs.

Other Parties

Although other parties and blocs garnered less than 4% of votes each in aggregate nationwide party-list vote, some of them succeeded in clearing 4% threshold in various localities and endorsed members in some Sakrebulos. Some of those small parties were focusing on specific regions rather than running a nationwide campaign.

Labor Party, led by Shalva Natelashvili ran for seats in all 71 Sakrebulos nationwide and cleared 4% threshold in 27 of them.

These municipalities and towns are: Sagarejo (4%); Gurjaani (4.99%); Kvareli (5.72%); Telavi city (5.29%); Telavi municipality (4.96%); Akhmeta (5.34%); Tianeti (5.8%); Rustavi (5.47%); Gardabani (5.67%); Mtskheta city (7.25%); Mtskheta municipality (10.34%); Dusheti (12.22%); (5.27%) Kazbegi; Kaspi (5.6%); Gori city council (4.36%); Kareli (5.07%); Khashuri (8.76%); Borjomi (8.1%); Ambrolauri city council (4.7%); Ambrolauri municipal council (4.02%); Tsageri (4.38%); Zestaponi (4.06%); Bagdati (4.73%); Tskaltubo (5.31%); Kutaisi (4.64%); Ozurgeti (4.67%) and Senaki (5.16%).

An election block of New Rights Party and Free Georgia, which ran in elections under the name Non-Parliamentary Opposition, cleared the threshold in party-list vote in 8 Sakrebulos.

Non-Parliamentary Opposition scored its best result in Akhalkalaki where it garnered 29.62% in party-list vote. Other localities where it endorsed members in Sakrebulos through party-list, proportional system are: Kharagauli (9.08%); Telavi city council (5.98%); Khobi (5.45%); Ambrolauri city council (5.15%); Lentekhi (5.12%); Martvili (5.1%) and Zestaponi (4.3%);

Georgia’s Way, party founded by ex-foreign minister Salome Zourabichvili, cleared threshold in six Sakrebulos: Ozurgeti (6.57%); Chiatura (5.77%); Batumi (5.22%); Abasha (4.72%); Mestia (4.42%) and Bagdati (4.32%);

In Bagdati municipality a gamgebeli candidate from Georgia’s Way made it into second round with 36.04% of votes and will face GD’s candidate in the runoff.

Political Movement of Veterans and Patriots of Georgia cleared threshold in five municipalities: Ninotsminda (8.6%); Kazbegi (6.47%); Gardabani (5.73%); Akhalkalaki (4.98%) and Tsageri (4.51%).

Green Party will have its members in three Sakrebulos: town of Mtskheta (9.86%), as well as Tianeti (6.45%) and Mestia (4.67%) municipalities.

Self-Governance for the People, an election bloc established by For Fair Georgia and European Democrats parties, cleared 4% threshold in two municipalities – Ninotsminda (7.13%) and Samtredia (4.71%).
 
Our Georgia, which ran for party-list seats in Sakrebulos of only Tbilisi and three municipalities, endorsed its members in Kazbegi (8.42%) and Rustavi (7.59%). In Rustavi a mayoral candidate nominated by this party, Erosi Kitsmarishvili, garnered 12.07% of votes and was on the third place after GD and UNM candidates.

Ex-defense minister Irakli Okruashvili’s Georgian Party focused its campaign only on Gori and it garnered 28.23% of votes in party-list contest for Gori city council and 25.91% for Gori municipal council. Georgian Party’s mayoral candidate in Gori received 29.27% and will face GD’s candidate in the second round runoff.

People’s Party will have its members in three Sakrebulos: Mtskheta city council (6.23%); Mtskheta municipal council (5.3%) and Tsalenjikha (4.23%).

Assembly of Unity will have its members in Batumi city council where it garnered 4.64% of votes and in Shuakhevi Sakrebulo (5.41%) – both in Adjara Autonomous Republic.

Christian-Democratic Party endorsed its members in Sakrebulo of Lentekhi, where it garnered 16.28% of votes in party-list contest.
 
Freedom–Zviad Gamsakhurdia’s Way ran only in Martvili, where it cleared the threshold in the party-list race for seats in Sakrebulo (4.16%).
 
Merab Kostava Society will have a member in Signagi Sakrebulo, where it garnered 4.25% in the party-list vote.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)

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