UNM Boycotts Second Round of Elections, Urges Supporters Not to Cast Votes

Opposition United National Movement Party will not run in the second round of the 2020 parliamentary elections. The party calls on its supporters to boycott the elections and not to cast their votes in the runoffs.

Khatia Dekanoidze, one of the leaders of the party, stated that Bidzina Ivanishvili, chairman of the Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia, had deprived citizens of the constitutional right to vote. She added that the post-election protests will continue.

"The protests will continue, there will be large-scale rallies, human chain rallies. On November 21, we will have various rallies, including a human chain, which is being planned," she said.

The second round of elections will be held in 16 out of 30 majoritarian constituencies, including the eight constituencies of Tbilisi, on November 21. 

In all of them, a candidate of the "Georgian Dream" will compete with an opposition candidate. 

A number of opposition parties have said they do not recognize the election results and do not intend to participate in the second round, as they believe that the elections were rigged by the incumbent government. 

By Ana Dumbadze