In Georgia, as per the preliminary data released by the Central Election Commission (CEC), the Georgian Dream (GD) Party’s majoritarian candidate, Irakli Shatakishvili, received 90.61 per cent of the votes when all polling stations in Rustavi were counted.
The CECs preliminary data from 121 polling stations states that Shatakishvili received 90.61%, a total of 34,333 votes, and the candidate for Social Justice, Mamuka Tuskadze, received 6.95% (2634 votes) while Kamal Muradkhanov, a candidate of the Georgian Unity and Development Party, received 2.43% (923 votes).
By-elections for the seats of Parliament of Georgia and the Batumi City Council were conducted in 2 majoritarian constituencies. Elections for a majoritarian member of Parliament of Georgia were held in majoritarian constituency No. 12, which includes Rustavi and part of Gardabani.
The local majoritarian constituency No. 79.04, which includes Gonio, Kvariati, and the airport settlement, held voting for the election of a Batumi City Council majoritarian member.
The by-elections in Batumi were conducted due to the death of Nugzar Putkaradze, a city council member from the opposition United National Movement party, in November last year, while the elections in Rustavi was held due to a vacant seat after former majoritarian MP Nino Latsabidze of the ruling Georgian Dream party was elected Mayor of Rustavi in local self-government elections held in October 2021.
As a result of this, to fill the vacant seats, parliamentary by-elections in Rustavi became necessary to select another person for the vacant seat.
A total of 135 polling booths were prepared to conduct the by-elections, with 121 polling stations set up in Rustavi and Gardabani (three precincts created in penitentiary institutions and one so-called Covid election precinct) and 14 in Batumi, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia.
The election was observed by 278 election subjects, 1590 observers from 49 local observer groups, and 22 international observers from four international observation organizations.
According to the Commission, 679 representatives of 16 media organizations had covered the election process.
