Georgia ruling party wins polls after ex-president's arrest

Georgia's ruling party on Sunday was set to win nationwide municipal elections that were overshadowed by the arrest of the country's former president and claims from by election obersvers of unfair voting practices.

Ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili returned from exile in Ukraine to the Caucasus country on Friday to support the opposition.

He was arrested and sent to jail a day after returning to Georgia on fraud-related charges he says are politically motivated.

Georgia was plunged into political turmoil last year after opposition parties said elections won narrowly by the Georgian Dream party were rigged.

What were the results?

The ruling Georgian Dream party won 46.7% of votes, compared with 30.7% for the opposition United National Movement (UNM), founded by Saakashvili.

Results were released on Sunday by the Election Administration of Georgia with of 99.97% of votes counted.

In the capital,Tbilisi, incumbent mayor Kakha Kaladze won 45% of the vote, while the chairman of the UNM, Nika Melia, received 34%. As no candidate won more than 50%, the city will hold a second poll on October 30.

Melia was jailed for three months earlier this year on charges of fomenting violence, which he rejected as politically motivated.

"Georgian Dream's decisive victory is the victory of peace, stability and development in Georgia," party chairman Irakli Kobakhidze said.

Observers claim election irregularities

Saturday's local election had been "marred by widespread and consistent allegations of intimidation, vote-buying, pressure on candidates and voters, and an unlevel playing field," although candidates were able to campaign freely, election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said at a press conference.

Georgian Dream's "misuse" of resources gave it an "undue advantage," the OSCE said.

It also noted that there had been cases of "intimidation and violence against journalists."

The opposition UNM on Sunday told AFP news agency that the election results were "falsified," and vowed to take all "legal" measures to reverse the outcome.

The ruling party said the closely watched elections "were held at the highest democratic standards."

How important were the elections?

The elections were seen as a crucial test for the ruling party, which has become increasingly unpopular with voters.

Under an EU-brokered inter-party agreement in May, Georgian Dream had pledged to hold snap parliamentary elections if it won less than 43% of the municipal vote.

But it unilaterally withdrew from the pact in July, sparking criticism from the West. In any case, Saturday's result frees them from the obligation to call snap polls.

Who is Mikheil Saakashvili?

In 2018, Saakashvili was convicted in absentia for a number of fraud-related charges and sentenced to six years in jail.

The flamboyant pro-Western reformer was the country's president from 2004-2013.

He left Georgia for Ukraine after his party lost the country's 2013 parliamentary election.

Saakashvili has been working and living in Ukraine for years, previously as the governor of the Odessa region, and currently as the head of a government agency in charge of reforms.

kmm/wmr (Reuters, AFP)