“There is an attempt at sabotaging the elections. Our citizens should adequately respond,” said Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili at the briefing.

According to the Speaker, those who intend to sabotage the elections deprive citizens of their right to vote.

“Tomorrow, Georgia holds local elections. Georgian citizens will elect mayors in 64 municipalities and over 2,000 members in city assemblies. Twenty-eight international and 27 local election observer organizations, and 73 media outlets are registered to monitor the elections. Over 2,500 observers and media representatives will cover the election process. Twelve parties are running in the municipal elections and nine candidates will contend for the post of Tbilisi Mayor,” he said.

The Speaker stated that the pre-election period was predominantly peaceful, with all parties engaging in campaigning and sharing their plans with the citizens.

“Traditionally, the opposition did not use the opportunity to have active communication with the population in the regions. The Georgian Dream, its candidates and representatives visited villages, all districts, and families to acquaint them with the team’s stance and listen to their concerns. As we have observed, the opposition was passive in the region. We have seen some of their activities in Tbilisi, but, as last year, they chose to lead their pre-election campaign from studios rather than hold face-to-face meetings with people. We have seen, and continue to see, attempts to sabotage the elections. This sabotage is evident not only through acts of refusal to participate in voting but also through openly declared intentions to disrupt the process, including violent rallies and threats to interfere with the elections, announced by two parties that have surpassed the election threshold.

We observed the parties’ coordinated activities with non-governmental organisations and the media, who are attempting to deprive citizens of their right to vote. We heard paradoxical statements about overthrow and coup, with the word ‘peaceful’ added to these terms; an assertion that is, frankly, absurd,” he said.

The Speaker recalled the case from Turkiye reviewed in the Strasbourg-based court related to “legitimate jihad and violence.”

“I want to assure the inventors of this terminology that they will not avoid responsibility. The word is said, and they will not change anything. They speak about starting and ending the overthrow on October 4, and I mean the Lelo, which wants to play on both flanks. They speak about participation in elections in the morning and overthrow in the evening. It is significant that our citizens adequately respond to all this,” he said.