Georgian Parliament official claims opposition has already lost Tbilisi mayoral election

David Matikashvili, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party and Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on Procedural Issues and Rules, on Wednesday claimed that the domestic opposition parties Lelo and Gakharia For Georgia had already lost the upcoming Tbilisi mayoral election before their campaign had even begun.

Commenting on their joint nomination of Irakli Kupradze, General Secretary of Lelo, for Tbilisi mayor, Matikashvili dismissed the opposition’s efforts as futile.

“The radicals haven’t even started their election campaign, and they’ve already lost the elections in Georgia. We can say this outright. The candidate they agreed upon shows that they had no means or choice of candidates whatsoever”, Matikashvili said.

The official further accused both parties of being extensions of the collective United National Movement, alleging they were deceiving the public.

“It has been proven time and again that these two wings of the collective National Movement are deceiving the public. One is a party of fraudsters, the other is the party of a fugitive Prime Minister”, he concluded.