Theona Akubardia says: "The Venice Commission’s conclusion has nothing whatsoever to do with participating in local elections." - Discussions about the October elections are part of the agenda for the "Georgian Dream".

Elections in March? Not What Protesters Want

The Georgian government wants to hold local elections in March. But that’s not what protesters are demanding, says Theona Akubardia of the “Georgian for Georgia” party.

According to Akubardia, the real goal is new parliamentary elections. She thinks the discussion about these local elections is just part of the government’s agenda to distract from this main demand.

Akubardia pointed out that the Venice Commission had already expressed concerns about the electoral code in local elections before the current changes were made. The president vetoed those changes, but they were later approved by the “Georgian Dream” party.

This shows that the government is afraid of free and fair elections, Akubardia said. She believes the discussion about October elections is also part of this agenda.

The Venice Commission has now published a conclusion on the changes made to the election code in Georgia. The commission recommends that these changes be repealed because they were made without proper public consultations.