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A subordinate of an predetermination committee helps to a pistillate to formed her ballot astatine a polling presumption during nationalist municipal elections successful Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. Former President Mikheil Saakashvili was arrested aft returning to Georgia, the authorities said Friday, a determination that came arsenic the ex-leader sought to mobilize supporters up of the nationalist municipal elections seen arsenic captious to the country's governmental makeup. The elections started Saturday. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)

TBILISI – Near-final results from nationwide municipal elections successful Soviet ex-republic Georgia amusement the ruling enactment good up of challengers, but the mayoral contests successful the country’s 5 largest cities apt volition request runoffs.

The Central Elections Commission said Sunday that the tally from much than 99% of the ballot showed the ruling Georgian Dream enactment with astir 47% of the wide vote. The main absorption enactment United National Movement garnered 31% and array of different parties were successful azygous digits.

Georgian Dream this outpouring signed a European Union-brokered statement to telephone an aboriginal predetermination for the nationalist parliament if its stock of the municipal elections ballot was little than 43%. However, it aboriginal withdrew from the agreement, saying the UNM hadn't signed it; that enactment aboriginal did so.

The mayoral races successful Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi, Poti and Rustavi each volition request runoffs due to the fact that nary campaigner got an implicit bulk of votes.

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Exiled erstwhile President Mikheil Saakashvili was arrested Friday aft returning to the state successful a bid to galvanize absorption to Georgian Dream.

Saakashvili, who near the state successful 2014 aft Georgian Dream won the presidency, faces up to six years successful situation connected convictions for maltreatment of powerfulness that were handed down successful absentia.

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