Lelo believes that Georgian Dream will try to rig the election
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Monday, August 24
Leaders of the party Lelo for Georgia fear that international observers may not be able to make it to Georgia for the 2020 elections due to the pandemic, and the Georgian Dream will use this opportunity to rig the election.
According to Pikria Chikhradze, Samgori majoritarian MP candidate of Lelo, it will depend on the work of authoritative international observation missions, how peaceful and fair the elections will be.
“For the 2020 election to take place in a fair, peaceful environment, international involvement as a part of the observation missions is also very important. This, however, can be under danger because of the current Covid-19 pandemic. We think that a lot of work needs to be done in this regard, and without it, it will be difficult to imagine a fair election,” said Pikria Chikhradze at a briefing on August 22nd.
According to Tazo Datunashvili, a member of the Lelo Political Council, the participation of observer organizations such as IRI, NDI, OSCE/ODIHR, the European Union and other missions in the process is very important for a successful election.
“I would like to ask every single partner of our country, including embassies and international authorities to ensure that missions are brought to the pre-election period in Georgia,” siad Datunashvili.
Archil Talakvadze, the Speaker of the Parliament, has already responded to the issue of timely deployment of observer missions in the country, saying that the Georgian government will do its best to "ensure that as many observers as possible arrive safely in the country."
Lelo for Georgia is a political party that was created at the end of 2019 by businessmen Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze. The party has attracted several prominent political figures and parties, including David Usupashvili's Development Movement, the New Rights Party and Pikria Chikhradze.
Lelo for Georgia is a centrist and liberal party, which aims to transcend the dichotomy between the Georgian Dream and the United National Movement to "put an end to the bipolar system running in Georgia since 2012."
