Opposition UNM party member accuses opposition Lelo party of vote buying ahead of Georgia’s local elections

Ana Tsitlidze, a prominent member of the United National Movement party, has publicly accused the opposition Lelo for Georgia party of engaging in vote buying and attempting to poach UNM members ahead of the upcoming local elections.

In her remarks, Tsitlidze noted that the Lelo party had already launched its campaign in the Samegrelo region.

“You will see that they have been campaigning for two months already, going from village to village”, Tsitlidze stated, asserting that Lelo representatives are “conducting a regular campaign”.

More significantly, Tsitlidze directly accused Lelo of bribery. She alleged that representatives of the Khazaradze-Japaridze party were “walking around with suitcases” and offering money to UNM members in exchange for their support.

“They were lying about this, and when I say they were walking around with suitcases, do you know how they approached our people, our leaders in the villages?” Tsitlidze asked rhetorically.

She then recounted Lelo representatives telling UNM members, “‘since you aren't participating anyway, either help us or be our candidate, and we have unlimited money; you will have as much as you want and as much as you need for all of this’. And, excuse me, what else is bribery?”