Court Upholds Mayoral Candidate’s Lawsuit
The District Court in Mtskheta upheld the lawsuit filed by Tamaz Mechiauri, opposition mayoral candidate in Tianeti Municipality of Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, and annulled two decisions of the local election administration, which had changed the results of Tianeti mayoral elections in favor of the ruling party candidate.
Tianeti District Election Commission decided on October 22 to recount the previously annulled ballot papers in precinct No. 20 and considered five of the votes valid, putting the ruling party candidate Lela Kitesashvili ahead of her only opponent with 50.03% of votes.
Tamaz Mechiauri, GDDG’s former member and former chairman of the Parliament’s finance and budget committee, appealed against the October 22 ruling in Mtskheta District Court; with the latter upholding the lawsuit and giving him a one vote advantage in the mayoral race.
If Mechiauri wins the mayoral polls, this would make him the only opposition candidate to obtain victory in the October 21 municipal elections. Final results of the elections have yet to be released, however. According to the election code, the ruling of the District Court can be challenged at the Court of Appeals in Tbilisi. The ruling of the latter will be final and cannot be subject to further review.