Ruling party says opposition ‘campaigning’ for election postponement due to fright

The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party says that the opposition political parties have been ‘actively campaigning’ over the past several days to achieve the postponement of the October 2 municipal elections ‘which will not happen.’

 

GD MP Mamuka Mdinaradze said that the opposition had been tasked by the country’s former president Mikheil Saakashvili to ‘use the surging figures of Covid-19 cases in Georgia’ to push the government to postpone the elections ‘because they are afraid.’ 

 

Mdinaradze says that elections carry fewer risks of contracting the virus than visiting a market or other everyday activities.

 

He also said that the statements of Ombudswoman Nino Lomjaria on the need of postponing the elections ‘are more likely to have been caused by incorrect information than Lomjaria’s links with the opposition.’ 

 

The opposition representatives have stated that ‘any responsible government’ would discuss the possibility of holding the elections when the country takes a top position worldwide per 100,000 population for Covid-19 daily cases and deaths. 

 

However, Girchi – More Freedom leader Iago Khvichia has stated that the ‘opposition should not have joined the ombudsperson in her statements, because the government and the ruling party would have used their position to say that the opposition is afraid of the elections.’ 

 

“The postponement of the elections is not in the interests of the opposition parties,” Khvichia said. 

 

Georgia has reported 5,924 new cases of coronavirus, while 5,041 have recovered and 58 have died from the virus in the past 24 hours.

 

57,762  remain infected with Covid-19 in Georgia currently.