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bne November 2018 Eurasia I 51
Near photo-finish in Georgia’s presidential election first-round vote
bne IntelliNews
French-born former foreign minis- ter Salome Zurabishvili is to face another ex-foreign minister Grigol Vashadze in a runoff for the Georgian presidency to be held by December 2.
The first-round vote gave Zurabishvili, an independent candidate who has the backing of the ruling Georgian Dream coalition, a wafer-thin lead
of 38.64% of votes to 37.74% over Grigol Vashadze, who is supported
by an opposition coalition including main opposition party United National Movement (UNM), the Central Election Commission (CEC) said on October 29, a day after the vote.
Former speaker of parliament Davit Bakradze, nominated by the opposition European Georgia party, trailed home in third place among a field of 25 with 10.97% of the vote. Bakradze said his party would throw its support behind Vashadze in the runoff.
Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze congratulated Georgians after the polls closed, saying the vote was held in a "peaceful, free, and democratic environment."
"We all are serving the nation," said out- going President Giorgi Margvelashvili, who is not seeking a second term, after placing his vote.
Modest turnout
The election is the last one for a presi- dent with full republican powers. The constitution has been changed and Georgia is transitioning, like many countries in the region, to a parliamen- tary democracy.
Constitutional amendments passed last year mean that future presidents will be elected by a 300-member College of Electors, comprising of MPs and local
and regional political representatives. One of the side effects of this change was it was difficult to enthuse voters to come out and cast their ballots.
The election was marred by a low turnout that stood at a modest
46.7%, according to officials, in line with expectations and almost exactly the same figure as was seen for the 2013 presidential election.
Vashadze is expected to hold a slim advantage in the second round. He
will benefit from a consolidation of opposition forces ahead of the runoff, while Zurabishvili will count on 'big tent'
equally against Georgian Dream and the other opposition parties, particularly the centre-right UNM, regarded as associated with former President Mikheil Saakashvili. Other presidential candidates included Davit Usupashvili (2.26% of votes), Zurab Japaridze (2.3%) and Kakha Kukava (1.34%).
Zurabishvili, 66, served as Georgia's foreign minister for just over a year before she was fired in 2005 following disagreements with parliament.
The UNM, which is the main player among 11 opposition groups in all that have got behind Vashadze, was
“The election is the last one for a president with full republican powers”
party Georgian Dream, led by billionaire and ex-PM Bidzina Ivanishvili, perhaps stepping up its massive backing.
Shalva Natelashvili, the leader of the Georgian Labour Party, won 3.74% of votes. But his voters are seen as
founded by Saakashvili, the former Rose Revolution leader now living in exile abroad Saakashvili was president from 2004 until 2013, the year after Georgian Dream defeated the UNM
in parliamentary elections.
A polling station in Tbilisi visited by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly election observation mission.
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