2021 Georgian local elections

2021 Georgian local elections

← 2017 2 October 2021 30 October 2021  →

Party Georgian Dream UNM For Georgia Popular vote 822,669 541,069 137,414 Percentage 46.68% 30.7% 7.8%   Party Lelo for Georgia European Georgia Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Popular vote 47,836 29,279 25,678 Percentage 2.71% 1.66% 1.46 %

The Georgian local self-government election, 2021, (Georgian: საქართველოს ადგილობრივი თვითმმართველობის ორგანოების არჩევნები) was held on 2 October 2021 to elect the bodies of local government of Georgia.

Tbilisi mayoral election, 2021[]

Tbilisi mayoral election, 2021

← 2017 2 October 2021 2025 →
Turnout	51,92%
Nominee Kakha Kaladze Nika Melia Giorgi Gakharia Party Georgian Dream UNM For Georgia Popular vote 216,344 163,489 45,257 Percentage 45% 34.01% 9.41%   Nominee Ana Dolidze Party Lelo Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Popular vote 21,935 12,161 7,033 Percentage 4.56% 2.53% 1.46%

The Tbilisi mayoral election, 2021, (Georgian: თბილისის მერის არჩევნები) was held on 2 October 2021 to elect the Mayor of Tbilisi in parallel to the Tbilisi City Sakrebulo elections.

The main candidates for the mayoral election are Kakhi Kaladze, current Mayor of Tbilisi and former Minister of Energy from the ruling Georgian Dream party, Nika Melia, Member of Parliament from the United National Movement, and Giorgi Gakharia, former Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs from the recently established For Georgia party.

In total, 16 candidates were nominated for the Tbilisi mayoral election as of 5 September.^[1]

N	Sequence number of electoral subject	Electoral subject	Name
1	1	Third Power	Tamar Kekenadze
2	5	United National Movement	Nika Melia
3	6	Alliance of Patriots
4	9	Lelo for Georgia
5	10	Labour Party	Mikheil Kumsishvili
6	13	Georgia	Giorgi Kutateladze
7	15	Fatherland	Teimuraz Bobokhidze
8	20	Future Georgia	Giorgi Laghidze
9	23	Our United Georgia	Arinze Richard Ogbunuju
10	25	For Georgia	Giorgi Gakharia
11	29	For the Social Justice	Ketevan Nakashidze
12	30	Workers Socialist Party	Evgeny Ghviniashvili
13	37	Free Georgia	Zaza Khatiashvili
14	41	Georgian Dream	Kakha Kaladze
15	48	For the People	Ana Dolidze
16	50	Green Party	Giorgi Gachechiladze

Opinion polls[]

Date	Pollster	GD	UNM	For Georgia	Girchi MF	EG	Lelo	Third Power	Labour Party	Patriots	Girchi	Citizens	Others/NA	Lead
September 2021	Edison Research	36%	27%	11%	4%	2%	4%	2%	4%	2%	2%	1%	5%	9%
September 2021	IPSOS	35%	30%	9%	2%	4%	3%	3%	3%	2%		1%	8%	5%
September 2021	Edison Research	33%	25%	10%	4%	2%	3%	2%	6%	3%	2%	1%	8%	8%
August 2021	GORBI	47.2%	26.8%	6.9%	2.4%	1.4%	2.6%	2.1%	1.2%	3.4%	0.8%	1.6%	3.6%	20.4%
July 2021	Edison Research	32%	24%	13%	2%	1%	4%	4%	3%	3%	2%	2%	13%	8%
July 2021	IPSOS	32%	23%	8%	5%	3%	2%	2%	3%	3%	1%	2%	16%	9%

Electoral system[]

Local self-government is the right and ability of citizens of Georgia to solve, within the legislation of Georgia, local issues through local authorities elected by them. There are two types of self-governing units (municipalities): self-governing cities and self-governing communities. A self-governing city is a settlement of an urban category, while a self-governing community is an aggregation of several settlements with administrative boundaries and an administrative center. There are 5 self-governing cities and 59 self-governing communities. Self-governing cities are Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi, Rustavi, Poti. The representative bodies (a representative council, in Georgian ) and a mayor, the head of the executive bodies, are directly elected by the citizens of Georgia registered in a self-governing unit to a four-year term. Members of Sakrebulos of the self-governing communities and the self-governing cities are elected through the majoritarian and proportional electoral systems. The election date is appointed by the President of Georgia 60 days prior to the polls and countersigned by Prime Minister.^[2]

Following the first round of 2020 Georgian parliamentary election, eight opposition parties accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of election fraud and stated that they would not attend parliamentary sittings, calling for the repeat parliamentary election.^[3] This caused the political crisis in Georgia. The Georgian Dream and the opposition agreed to hold negotiations facilitated by the EU to resolve the crisis. In January 2021 the Citizens party, which recently found itself at odds with the rest of the boycotting opposition, began separate negotiations with the ruling party and agreed to quit the opposition's boycott and enter the Parliament after having signed electoral reform deal with the Georgian Dream. In March the MPs Shalva Papuashvili and Levan Ioseliani (from the Georgian Dream and Citizens respectively) drafted electoral amendments bill. On April 19 the Georgian Dream party and the rest of the opposition signed a reconciliation agreement with EU mediation, which, along with other reforms, envisaged a change in the electoral system at the local level: 4:1 proportion of proportional and majoritarian seats in five major cities and 2:1 proportion in all others. At the same time, a 3% threshold was set in the proportional system in the regions and a 2.5% threshold in Tbilisi. The 40% demand was set in the majoritarian system. The amendments were revised in line with the agreement and adopted on June 28.

The Annex No. 1 to the сurrent regulates the compositions of Sakrebulos of self-governing communities and self-governing cities, except the Tbilisi Sakrebulo, which is composed of 50 members, out of which 10 members are elected in the territory of local single-seat majoritarian electoral districts, and 40 are elected through the proportional electoral system in the whole territory of Tbilisi municipality.

Along with the electoral reform, the agreement with the opposition obliged the Georgian Dream party to call for the snap parliamentary elections if it fails to garner 43% of the proportional vote on the local elections. On July 28 the Georgian Dream unilaterally left the agreement. The head of the Georgian Dream party Irakli Kobakhidze has stated that the main reason for the withdrawal from the agreement was that "the opposition [United National Movement] party which won the most opposition seats in parliament refused to join the agreement and other opposition parties were consistently violating the agreement, the ruling party was the only which was fulfilling the agreement".^[4]

Compositions of Sakrebulos of self-governing communities and self-governing cities (except for Tbilisi City) according to the Annex No. 1 to the Election Code:

Electoral District	Majoritarian Electoral System	Proportional Electoral System	Total
Batumi Electoral District	7	28	35
Kutaisi Electoral District	7	28	35
Rustavi Electoral District	7	28	35
Poti Electoral District	7	28	35
Sagarejo Electoral District	13	26	39
Gurjaani Electoral District	13	26	39
Sighnaghi Electoral District	12	24	36
Dedoplistsqaro Electoral District	10	20	30
Lagodekhi Electoral District	10	20	30
Kvareli Electoral District	9	18	27
Telavi Electoral District	13	26	39
Akhmeta Electoral District	10	20	30
Tianeti Electoral District	9	18	27
Gardabani Electoral District	12	24	36
Marneuli Electoral District	11	22	33
Bolnisi Electoral District	12	24	36
Dmanisi Electoral District	10	20	30
Tsalka Electoral District	10	20	30
Tetritsqaro Electoral District	12	24	36
Mtskheta Electoral District	9	18	27
Dusheti Electoral District	11	22	33
Kazbegi Electoral District	6	12	18
Kaspi Electoral District	10	20	30
Gori Electoral District	12	24	36
Kareli Electoral District	9	18	27
Khashuri Electoral District	9	18	27
Borjomi Electoral District	11	22	33
Akhaltsikhe Electoral District	13	26	39
Adigeni Electoral District	11	22	33
Aspindza Electoral District	10	20	30
Akhalkalaki Electoral District	14	28	42
Ninotsminda Electoral District	10	20	30
Oni Electoral District	11	22	33
Ambrolauri Electoral District	10	20	30
Tsageri Electoral District	10	20	30
Lentekhi Electoral District	7	14	21
Mestia Electoral District	11	22	33
Kharagauli Electoral District	11	22	33
Terjola Electoral District	10	20	30
Sachkhere Electoral District	11	22	33
Zestafoni Electoral District	13	26	39
Baghdati Electoral District	9	18	27
Vani Electoral District	10	20	30
Samtredia Electoral District	11	22	33
Khoni Electoral District	10	20	30
Chiatura Electoral District	12	24	36
Tkibuli Electoral District	9	18	27
Tskaltubo Electoral District	13	26	39
Ozurgeti Electoral District	15	14	30
Lanchkhuti Electoral District	9	18	27
Chokhatauri Electoral District	12	24	36
Abasha Electoral District	10	20	30
Senaki Electoral District	11	22	33
Martvili Electoral District	12	24	36
Zugdidi Electoral District	15	30	45
Khobi Electoral District	12	24	36
Tsalenjikha Electoral District	9	18	27
Chkhorotsku Electoral District	9	18	27
Keda Electoral District	7	14	21
Kobuleti Electoral District	13	26	39
Shuakhevi Electoral District	7	14	21
Khelvachauri Electoral District	8	16	24
Khulo Electoral District	8	16	24
Overall			2,018

Results[]

Self-governing City Counsils[]

Self-governing city	Georgian Dream	UNM	For Georgia	Lelo for Georgia	European Georgia	APG	Girchi MF	Labour Party	Third Power	Others
Tbilisi[5]	40.41	27.97	8.86	3.63	1.18	1.65	3.30	1.31	1.01	10.68
Kutaisi	39.21	37.60	6.71	2.02	1.11	1.21	1.62	1.71	3.27	5.54
Batumi	39.36	38.41	10.02	3.29	0.99	1.21	1.58	0.92	1.08	3.14
Rustavi	36.25	38.36	7.45	2.28	1.04	2.22	2.60	1.85	1.39	6.56
Poti	41.79	31.41	13.20	1.84	2.35	0.65	1.58	1.37	1.28	4.53

Municipal Councils by Region[]

Imereti

municipalities	Georgian Dream	UNM	For Georgia	Lelo for Georgia	European Georgia	Patriots of Georgia	Girchi MF	Labour Party	Third Power	Others
Kharagauli	54.82	26.47	6.85	4.75	1.47	2.09		1.70	1.63	0.22
Terjola	46.96	30.05	5.38	2.53	8.74	1.30	0.75	1.55	1.97	0.77
Sachkhere	80.23	6.82	4.93	2.83	1.04	1.31	1.12	0.73	0.78	0.21
Zestafoni	48.31	32.47	7.37	2.28	1.81	1.25	0.99	1.71	1.61	2.20
Baghdati	47.27	33.94	5.19	3.04	2.49	1.19	1.24	1.54	1.24	2.86
Vani	59.97	27.40	2.06	1.59	4.82	0.77		1.31	1.06	1.02
Samtredia	52.24	30.53	3.99	3.50	1.85	1.11	0.81	1.21	2.83	1.93
Khoni	53.35	21.05	4.90	1.27	14.01	1.55		1.45	1.21	1.21
Chiatura	55.32	20.79	7.64	3.52	2.35	2.53		1.55	4.03	2.27
Tkibuli	48.46	34.96	4.88	3.69	1.36	1.68	1.02	1.38	2.00	0.57
Tskaltubo	44.76	39.70	4.21	2.55	1.84	1.53	0.66	1.44	2.18	1.13

Kvemo Kartli

municipalities	Georgian Dream	UNM	For Georgia	Lelo for Georgia	European Georgia	Patriots of Georgia	Girchi MF	Labour Party	Third Power	Others
Gardabani	56.41	34.66	2.18	1.54	0.69	1.56		0.98	0.70
Marneuli	64.75	26.5	1.38		2.21	0.36		2.23	2.20
Bolnisi	68.16	24.57	1.91	1.01	0.19	0.99	1.69	0.48	0.40
Dmanisi	49.49	42.16	0.44	0.98	1.04	0.66		0.41
Tsalka	53.16	21.61	5.93	2.05	2.02	0.63		0.63	3.10
Tetritskaro	54.07	27.66	4.45	3.95	1.38	2.37		1.53	1.78

Adjara

municipalities	Georgian Dream	UNM	For Georgia	Lelo for Georgia	European Georgia	Patriots of Georgia	Girchi MF	Labour Party	Third Power	Others
Keda	51.48	30.66	6.68	3.31	2.60	1.88	0.46	1.43	0.79
Kobuleti	48.25	38.06	7.43	1.53	0.46	0.91	0.61	0.60	1.01
Shuakhevi	45.99	34.97	7.77	3.79	2.06	2.27	0.49	0.50	1.12
Khelvachauri	41.18	35.87	15.08	1.97	1.82	1.12	0.68	0.88	0.63
Khulo	46.39	34.96	6.42	4.08	2.07	0.70	0.52	0.35	3.16

Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti

municipalities	Georgian Dream	UNM	For Georgia	Lelo for Georgia	European Georgia	Patriots of Georgia	Girchi MF	Labour Party	Third Power	Others
Abasha	42.87	30.62	8.27	2.24	1.39	0.93		3.16	2.06
Senaki	38.22	39.94	15.56	0.98	0.98	0.50	0.56	0.97	0.83
Martvili	36.54	30.02	17.09	0.83	2.73	0.48		0.46	2.51
Khobi	42.74	33.79	14.11	2.24	2.25	0.70	0.53	2.15	0.77
Zugdidi	40.06	43.16	10.64	1.44	1.04	0.48	0.72	0.71	0.64
Tsalenjikha	34.76	37.76	19.02	3.35	2.12	0.74		0.71	0.66
Chkhorotsku	34.09	32.13	23.06	3.22	1.32	0.62		0.48	1.68

Kakheti

municipalities	Georgian Dream	UNM	For Georgia	Lelo for Georgia	European Georgia	Patriots of Georgia	Girchi MF	Labour Party	Third Power	Others
Sagarejo	56.03	31.78	2.13	3.77	0.90	1.77	0.93	1.31	0.74
Gurjaani	51.06	32.88	4.47	1.94	3.75	1.58	0.75	1.75	1.09
Sighnaghi	53.69	33.75	3.90	1.63	0.90	1.63	0.83	1.81	0.92
Dedoplistskaro	62.58	23.96	1.99	2.61	1.55		1.02	1.44
Lagodekhi	47.08	37.36	3.09	1.36	1.75	1.30	0.79	1.42	4.99
Kvareli	50.25	35.99	5.54	2.83	0.41	1.65		1.22	1.04
Telavi	44.65	40.33	5.27	2.40	1.19	1.21		2.13	1.67
Akhmeta	46.44	41.33	3.07	1.82	0.60	2.49		2.47	0.66

Shida Kartli

Self-governing city	Georgian Dream	UNM	For Georgia	Lelo for Georgia	European Georgia	Patriots of Georgia	Girchi MF	Labour Party	Third Power	Others
Kaspi	47.78	34.27	7.67	1.42	0.89	3.14		1.77	0.64
Gori	48.45	31.74	10.26	2.12	0.94	1.77	1.34	1.66	0.81
Kareli	44.29	36.64	7.58	4.20	1.07	1.69	0.87	1.67	0.88
Khashuri	41.69	32.72	10.63	3.97	0.72	1.67	1.53	1.92	1.70

See also[]

• Administrative divisions of Georgia (country)
• Local government in Georgia (country)
• Tbilisi City Assembly
• Kutaisi City Assembly
• Batumi City Assembly

References[]