Opposition leader rejects Georgia's local vote as a farce

Paata Manjgaladze, a leader of Georgia’s opposition party Strategy Aghmashenebeli, has criticised the country’s upcoming local elections, calling them a “farce” and declaring they could not be considered legitimate while the Georgian Dream “controls the outcome.”

“When the regime still holds the scoreboard on which it can write any result it wants, we cannot call this an election,” Manjgaladze said on Wednesday.

He further noted eight opposition parties had jointly refused to recognise the results of the municipal elections, citing systemic manipulation and a lack of genuine democratic competition.

“This is not an election. Whether three or four parties take part, whether they have a candidate or not, it makes no difference. Entering into something that lacks real democratic substance is, in my view, the wrong approach,” he added.

Manjgaladze acknowledged that some participating candidates were friends or acquaintances, but insisted they had been misled into thinking the process was fair.