Police arrested six people in connection to violent incident that disrupted voting at a polling station in the village of Kizilajlo of the Marneuli municipality in Kvemo Kartli region during the October 8 parliamentary elections, the Interior Ministry said on October 13.
UNM opposition party said its activists, who “actually had nothing to do” with the incident, were arrested and accused the authorities of trying to gain advantage in race for a majoritarian MP seat from Marneuli through “repressions and intimidation.”
Dozens of men tried to storm the public school in the village of Kizilajlo, where the precinct No. 48 was located, throwing stones, and injuring at least one policeman.
Violent crowd left the area only after an armed unit of special task force was deployed by the Interior Ministry, which said that supporters of opposition UNM and State for People parties were trying to storm the polling station.
Because of this incident, which disrupted the voting process at the polling station, a repeat election will be held at the precinct No.48, according to the Central Election Commission.
UNM’s majoritarian MP candidate Akmamed Imamquliyev, who also arrived at the polling station during the incident and who claimed ballot rigging at the precinct, is leading the race in Marneuli over his closest competitor, GDDG’s Tamaz Naveriani, with 47.91% to 43.41% of votes.
Imamquliyev, according to preliminary results, has a lead by a margin of 907 votes and the repeat vote at the invalidated precinct should decide the outcome of the race in Marneuli – whether there will be an outright winner or the race will go into the second round.
Imamquliyev and his supporters were gathered outside the Marneuli police station on Thursday morning, protesting the arrest of six people. Some leaders of UNM opposition party also arrived in Marneuli, demanding from the local police to tell them where the detained men were held by the police.
Six men, aged 19-24, were arrested in connection to charges related to obstructing the work of an election administration and resisting police, the Interior Ministry said on October 13. It also said that these men were “especially aggressive” during the incident at the polling station, “calling on other citizens for breaking into the precinct to hijack the ballot box. They threw stones at law enforcement officers.”
UNM’s executive secretary, MP Sergo Ratiani, said that the GDDG ruling party tries to gain upper-hand in race for Marneuli majoritarian MP race through arresting opposition party’s activists.
“We’ve seen Georgian Dream supporters committing violent incident in Kortskheli and Jikhashkari in front of TV cameras and no one even touched them, while in Marneuli, people, who actually have nothing to do with [the incident at the precinct No.48], were arrested,” MP Ratiani said.
Two polling stations – No.79 and No.108 – in the village of Jikhashkari of the Zugdidi municipality in Samegrelo region were raided and polling materials destroyed; two men, at least one of them GDDG supporter, were arrested in connection to these incidents. Repeat votes are also expected at these polling stations, according to the Central Election Commission, to determine outcome of the race for majoritarian MP seat from Zugdidi municipality, where Georgia’s ex-first lady Sandra Roelofs of UNM and GDDG’s Edisher Toloraia are the main contenders. Repeat vote is also expected in precinct No.38 in the village of Ganmukhuri of Zugdidi municipality because of procedural violations, according to CEC.
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