Lelo to support opposition candidates in runoffs

The Lelo opposition party says that it will support opposition mayoral candidates in municipal election runoffs on October 30. 

The party said that the October 2 municipal elections were ‘far from fair and transparent,’ and that the ruling Georgian Dream party has used illegal methods, like intimidation of voters and voter bribery, to win the race. 

The party also said that the return of the third president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili ahead of the electrons, and his recent arrest, further complicated political tension and polarisation in Georgia. 

Lelo says that ‘anyway, we are happy with election results.’ 

The party will have representatives in  25 city assemblies across the country. 

“We will have two representatives (of total 50) in Tbilisi City Assembly,” one of the founders of the party Badri Japaridze said, adding that Lelo has succeeded despite being of only two years in politics. 

The party received 2.7 percent in the proportional race of municipal elections. 

The mayoral runoffs will take place in all big cities of Georgia and in several self-governing communities.