CEC: Ruling GD Candidate Leads Vani and Khoni By-Elections

Ruling Georgian Dream (GD) candidate Givi Chichinadze is leading with 57.86% in the Samegrelo Region Vani and Khoni Municipality by-elections held on April 28.

Georgia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) has released early results from all 60 polling stations in two, single-mandate constituencies, saying the GD party is leading.

In total, six candidates were registered for the elections and the preliminary results are as follows:

Givi Chichinadze, GD, -57.86% (15,690 votes)

Gigi Ugulava, European Georgia candidate - 38.38% (10,404 votes)

Vasil Kopaliani, an initiative group candidate - 1.61% of votes (436 votes)

Mamuka Tuskadze, New Christian Democrats party- 1.47% (399 votes)

Giorgi Liluashvili, Sakartvelo (Georgia) party- 0.46% of votes (124 votes)

Zurab Kartvelishvili, the Traditionalists - 0.22% (59 votes)

The elections became necessary after the GD majoritarian MP of Vani and Khoni, Grigol Liluashvili, was appointed on the post of the Deputy Head of the State Security Service of Georgia.

By Thea Morrison