Georgia ruling party wins local election

Georgia’s ruling party won a commanding lead in a municipal election held a day after the arrest of former president Mikheil Saakashvili, who had returned to support the opposition, Report informs referring to Reuters.

The ruling Georgian Dream party won 46.7% of votes to 30.7% for the United National Movement (UNM), founded by Saakashvili, according to results released on October 3 by the Election Administration of Georgia with of 99.97% of votes counted.

In the capital Tbilisi, incumbent mayor Kakha Kaladze won 45% of the vote, while the chairman of the opposition UNM, Nika Melia, received 34%. As no candidate won more than 50%, the city will hold a second round on October 30.