2017 Georgian local elections

The 2017 Georgian local elections (Georgian: საქართველოს ადგილობრივი თვითმმართველობის ორგანოების არჩევნები) were held on 21 October 2017[1] to elect the bodies of local government of Georgia: 2,058 members of representative councils (sakrebulo) and 64 mayors of municipalities. The votes went into second-round runoffs in six municipalities on 12 November 2017.[2] The ruling Georgian Dream party won in all constituencies under the proportional contest and secured 62 out of 64 mayoral positions.

2017 Georgian local elections
21 October 2017 (first round)
12 November 2017 (second round)
Turnout45.65% (first round)
33.24% (second round)
 
Party Georgian Dream UNM European Georgia
Popular vote 838,154 256,547 156,232
Percentage 55.81% 17.08% 10.4%
 
Party APG Labour Party DM - FG
Popular vote 98,530 49,130 38,898
Percentage 6.56% 3.27% 2.59%

Background
See also: Local government in Georgia (country)

There are two types of municipalities in Georgia: self-governing cities and self-governing communities. The representative councils (sakrebulo) and executive heads of municipalities – mayors are directly elected by the citizens of Georgia to a four-year term. The election date was appointed by the President of Georgia 60 days prior to the polls and countersigned by the Prime Minister.[3]

The previous elections were held in two rounds in 2014. Most of the sakrebulo (council) and gamgebeli (mayoral) seats were won by the ruling Georgian Dream coalition.[4]

Election campaign

The local non-governmental organizations monitoring the elections—the International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED), the Georgian Young Lawyers Association (GYLA) and the Transparency International Georgia—jointly assessed the pre-election environment as mostly peaceful and noted that, while political parties were noticeably active, "the ruling party's dominance was evident".[5] The most serious incident in the pre-election campaign occurred in the village of Kizilajlo of Marneuli Municipality in which the Georgian Dream's candidate and other persons were assaulted with a firearm at the party office on October 19.[5]

In the 2017 elections, the first ever openly-gay candidate ran for public office in Georgia. Republican Party candidate Nino Bolkvadze aimed to take her place in the city assembly of the capital of Georgia. "Bolkvadze, who is running for the Republican Party, a small opposition force, said she hoped her campaign would put the spotlight on gay rights and change outdated public perceptions of LGBT people."[6]

2017 Tbilisi mayoral election
2017 Tbilisi mayoral election
21 October 2017
Turnout43.43%
 
Nominee Kakha Kaladze Aleko Elisashvili Zaal Udumashvili
Party Georgian Dream Independent UNM
Popular vote 204,061 69,803 66,259
Percentage 51.09% 17.48% 16.59%
 
Nominee Elene Khoshtaria Irma Inashvili Giorgi Vashadze
Party European Georgia APG New Georgia
Popular vote 28,411 12,070 7,800
Percentage 7.11% 3.02% 1.95%

The 2017 Tbilisi mayoral election (Georgian: თბილისის მერის არჩევნები) was held on 21 October to elect the Mayor of Tbilisi. Tbilisi City Assembly elections were held simultaneously.

The main candidates of the mayoral election were Kakha Kaladze, former footballer and minister of energy from the ruling Georgian Dream coalition; journalist Zaal Udumashvili from the UNM; independent candidate Aleko Elisashvili, journalist and a member of the Tbilisi City Assembly; Elene Khoshtaria from European Georgia, journalist and a member of the parliament; Irma Inashvili, leader of the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia and a member of the parliament.

Opinion polls
Date Pollster Kaladze
GD		 Udumashvili
UNM		 Elisashvili
Independent		 Khoshtaria
EG		 Lead
22 September - 2 October 2017 Edison Research 34% 14% 14% 5% 20%
23 August - 15 October 2017 Metronome 33% 13% 29% 14% 5%
3 August - 27 September 2017 Forum.ge 12.67% 11.28% 64.76% 3.86% 52.09%
18 June - 9 July 2017 NDI 37% 16% 22% 5% 15%

Results
CandidatePartyVotes%
Kakha KaladzeGeorgian Dream204,06151.09
Aleko ElisashviliIndependent69,80317.48
Zaal UdumashviliUnited National Movement66,25916.59
Elene KhoshtariaEuropean Georgia28,4117.11
Irma InashviliAlliance of Patriots12,0703.02
Giorgi VashadzeNew Georgia7,8001.95
Kakha KukavaDemocratic Movement5,0051.25
Giorgi GugavaLabour Party3,8420.96
Tengiz ShergelashviliDevelopment Movement1,0070.25
Lasha SturuaProgressive-Democratic Movement3960.10
Giorgi LiluashviliGeorgia3590.09
Davit ShukakidzeNational-Democratic Movement2010.05
Nikoloz SaneblidzeTraditionalists1960.05
Total399,410100.00
Valid votes399,41097.26
Invalid/blank votes11,2602.74
Total votes410,670100.00
Registered voters/turnout943,42343.53
Source: CEC

Results
Municipality Turnout GD UNM EG APG GLP DMFG SA DM FUG Others Lead
Tbilisi* 43.43 53.15 17.66 9.18 5.62 3.90 3.18 3.44 Steady Steady 3.87 35.49
Sagarejo 41.84 62.14 12.79 9.29 8.52 3.45 2.95 Steady Steady Steady 0.86 49.35
Gurjaani 50.60 54.10 11.97 20.64 7.04 3.57 1.42 Steady Steady Steady 1.26 33.46
Sighnaghi 47.23 56.20 21.85 8.25 8.64 3.06 1.61 Steady Steady Steady 0.39 34.35
Dedoplistskaro 47.34 61.99 14.87 9.20 8.17 2.45 1.29 Steady Steady Steady 2.03 47.12
Lagodekhi 46.55 55.10 20.67 11.61 4.71 3.00 3.98 Steady Steady Steady 0.93 34.43
Kvareli 54.33 54.92 18.35 8.89 9.08 4.90 1.78 Steady Steady Steady 2.08 36.57
Telavi 48.72 51.58 25.38 9.23 4.46 3.73 1.69 0.56 2.28 Steady 1.09 26.20
Akhmeta 50.00 53.66 17.55 14.37 5.55 4.88 3.18 Steady Steady Steady 0.81 36.11
Tianeti 57.51 47.46 4.83 2.53 5.94 3.80 3.95 Steady Steady 31.22 0.27 16.24
Rustavi* 38.66 47.89 21.16 12.42 7.40 5.04 1.97 1.46 Steady Steady 2.66 26.73
Gardabani 36.60 70.52 9.79 9.01 6.10 3.03 0.85 Steady Steady Steady 0.70 60.73
Marneuli 38.69 69.47 7.79 18.25 1.16 0.38 0.66 1.56 0.31 Steady 0.42 51.22
Bolnisi 44.10 80.69 9.96 3.78 3.02 0.93 1.14 Steady Steady Steady 0.48 70.73
Dmanisi 53.65 75.78 7.72 2.93 2.01 0.76 1.45 Steady 9.02 Steady 0.33 66.76
Tsalka 45.95 66.21 14.67 4.63 7.28 Steady 1.58 4.15 Steady Steady 1.48 51.54
Tetritskaro 45.38 62.81 17.60 Steady 9.43 4.40 4.43 Steady Steady Steady 1.33 45.21
Mtskheta 48.05 60.55 10.84 8.66 12.43 5.69 0.92 Steady Steady Steady 0.91 48.12
Dusheti 43.53 51.90 6.81 9.26 15.99 11.10 2.82 Steady Steady Steady 2.12 35.91
Kazbegi 51.72 46.15 Steady 8.77 11.99 5.28 9.53 Steady Steady Steady 18.28 34.16
Kaspi 42.34 56.19 16.32 6.99 11.53 5.28 1.67 Steady Steady Steady 2.02 39.87
Gori 40.19 51.87 16.94 10.25 5.50 3.36 2.40 Steady 7.94 Steady 1.74 34.93
Kareli 45.23 58.66 18.23 10.45 5.60 4.04 2.24 Steady Steady Steady 0.78 40.43
Khashuri 39.34 46.05 20.84 8.65 10.24 8.33 3.79 1.06 Steady Steady 1.04 25.21
Borjomi 49.19 41.32 11.25 5.21 33.67 4.18 3.00 Steady Steady Steady 1.37 7.65
Akhaltsikhe 53.54 65.62 9.97 19.50 2.19 1.74 0.44 Steady Steady Steady 0.54 46.12
Adigeni 65.52 59.57 6.91 20.95 7.92 1.70 2.75 Steady Steady Steady 0.20 38.62
Aspindza 69.37 59.19 7.67 12.25 14.90 3.12 2.50 Steady Steady Steady 0.37 44.29
Akhalkalaki 52.23 61.33 1.38 4.20 26.66 0.44 4.97 Steady Steady Steady 1.02 34.67
Ninotsminda 55.30 79.68 1.52 5.88 9.10 Steady 2.63 0.89 Steady Steady 0.30 70.58
Oni 58.51 61.95 11.87 5.38 12.06 3.55 Steady Steady 4.46 Steady 0.73 49.89
Ambrolauri 63.14 63.27 12.78 6.77 7.80 4.36 4.06 Steady Steady Steady 0.96 50.49
Tsageri 61.50 53.54 8.29 17.04 7.06 5.30 7.80 Steady Steady Steady 0.97 36.50
Lentekhi 53.66 54.49 11.55 9.15 12.78 3.36 8.06 Steady Steady Steady 0.61 41.71
Mestia 63.94 59.28 7.59 12.55 12.92 2.46 2.96 Steady Steady Steady 2.24 46.36
Kharagauli 63.43 56.65 16.65 10.59 5.61 3.09 2.32 Steady 4.66 Steady 0.43 40.00
Terjola 58.20 56.91 8.33 25.15 5.04 2.11 1.92 Steady Steady Steady 0.54 31.76
Sachkhere 51.22 82.26 4.60 4.85 4.44 Steady Steady Steady Steady Steady 3.85 77.41
Zestafoni 44.03 51.51 16.41 14.76 9.48 3.82 2.46 Steady Steady Steady 1.56 35.10
Baghdati 54.93 52.62 19.62 13.55 4.92 3.39 3.34 Steady 2.14 Steady 0.42 33.00
Vani 56.30 63.24 12.77 16.62 3.24 3.05 0.69 Steady Steady Steady 0.39 46.62
Samtredia 47.85 51.71 22.71 11.38 4.27 2.23 2.70 1.46 2.57 Steady 0.97 29.00
Khoni 63.56 54.61 8.17 31.42 2.69 2.14 0.50 Steady Steady Steady 0.47 23.19
Chiatura 44.63 56.56 15.77 8.98 7.50 2.43 2.56 1.74 1.37 Steady 3.09 40.79
Tkibuli 50.98 49.67 23.67 11.64 6.42 2.37 4.74 0.73 Steady Steady 0.76 26.00
Tskaltubo 46.02 49.34 26.95 12.65 3.90 2.53 3.46 Steady Steady Steady 1.17 22.39
Kutaisi* 35.36 49.15 23.37 11.93 3.89 3.76 2.86 2.64 0.90 Steady 1.50 25.78
Ozurgeti 56.99 58.36 13.22 9.75 10.07 4.56 2.15 Steady Steady Steady 1.89 45.14
Lanchkhuti 58.30 58.24 13.01 12.56 5.68 3.67 3.56 2.22 Steady Steady 1.06 45.23
Chokhatauri 64.18 54.32 9.59 9.66 11.22 2.43 1.55 Steady 7.99 Steady 3.24 43.10
Abasha 61.75 51.35 23.05 7.93 4.87 1.93 4.12 1.94 Steady Steady 4.81 28.30
Senaki 47.21 51.07 25.05 12.48 4.31 2.66 1.27 Steady 1.19 Steady 1.97 26.02
Martvili 61.94 40.08 27.77 10.79 7.24 1.38 3.18 Steady Steady Steady 9.56 12.31
Khobi 54.62 52.61 17.02 13.79 3.80 4.22 3.65 Steady 2.60 Steady 2.31 35.59
Zugdidi 37.99 57.00 24.68 11.06 1.70 2.05 1.88 Steady Steady Steady 1.63 32.32
Tsalenjikha 44.98 54.96 22.95 12.21 5.08 2.20 1.47 Steady Steady Steady 1.13 32.01
Chkhorotsqu 57.49 53.65 23.90 6.80 4.35 1.54 2.09 Steady 4.33 Steady 3.34 29.75
Poti* 45.06 51.49 15.26 11.60 5.49 4.39 4.41 Steady 6.47 Steady 0.89 36.23
Batumi* 36.37 53.91 24.92 6.77 6.73 3.19 1.92 0.92 Steady Steady 1.64 28.99
Keda 66.09 57.16 20.46 7.77 8.75 2.98 1.96 Steady Steady Steady 0.92 36.70
Kobuleti 49.95 57.35 24.64 4.25 7.34 1.79 2.93 Steady Steady Steady 1.70 32.71
Shuakhevi 61.24 60.39 18.46 7.23 5.49 1.65 2.74 Steady Steady Steady 4.04 41.93
Khelvachauri 43.77 50.65 24.58 8.00 8.52 2.65 3.12 Steady 1.86 Steady 0.62 26.07
Khulo 59.75 51.46 22.99 10.79 4.39 1.37 5.12 Steady 3.76 Steady 0.12 28.47
Source: CEC CEC

^* denotes a self-governing city.

See also

References
  1. "Municipal Election Date Set for October 21". Civil Georgia. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  2. "CEC Releases Final Municipal Election Results". Civil Georgia. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  3. "ადგილობრივი თვითმმართველობის კოდექსი [Code of Local Self-Government]". Organic law No. 1958-IIს of 5 February 2014 (in Georgian). Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  4. "Georgia Local Elections June 15 and July 12, 2014" (PDF). International Republican Institute. 2014. p. 2. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  5. "Elections 2017: Weekly Digest No. 7". Civil Georgia. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  6. "Elections 2017: Georgia's first openly gay politician tests homophobia in Caucasus".
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