Violence is another aspect of the polarization we are seeing again in this election campaign, EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell told journalists.

Asked about a recent incident in Dmanisi, where UNM and GD supporters clashed on Tuesday, Carl Hartzell said it is important to have a proper legal follow up and would lead to results.

“With regard to the case itself, I watched the news that you have broadcasted and I was taken aback by what happened yesterday. It is clear that violence has no place in the democratic election campaign and there is a need not only to condemn, as has been done by many of these instances but also to make sure that there is a proper legal follow up, which, I hope, has started and will lead to results. Of course, violence is another aspect of the polarization we are seeing again in this election campaign as we have seen in many other election campaigns, which leads not only to very harsh rhetoric but also a very clear division and different information space between citizens. And all of these is leading up to this type of frustration and, in the end, to these instances of violence, I’m afraid. One will have to tackle the overall election climate and think about how to bring down this level of polarization in order to avoid such instances in the future,” Carl Hartzell stated.