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The Georgian ruling party accused Mikheil Saakashvili, who is facing jail time, of pretending to return home before the crucial municipal vote.
Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili told his supporters that he returned to the country despite the threat of jail and urged them to vote for the opposition in the upcoming municipal elections ——But the ruling party accused him of pretending to return to China.
The Georgian Ministry of Interior told the independent Formula TV channel on Friday that “Saakashvili has not crossed Georgia’s state boundaries”.
Saakashvili, who has been working in Ukraine, announced earlier this week that he planned to fly home to participate in Saturday’s local elections to help “save the country” and called for street protests after the elections.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that if Saakashvili returns to his country, he will be arrested.
Saakashvili came to power in Georgia after a peaceful uprising called the Rose Revolution in 2003. He believes that the accusations against him were politically motivated, and these accusations claimed abuse of power and cover-ups.
“Good morning, Georgia!”
On Friday, he posted a message on social media: “Good morning, Georgia! From Georgia in eight years!”
He then posted a video shot in Batumi, the Georgian city he said that night, and called on his supporters to vote for his Unified National Movement Party or any small party that opposes the ruling Georgian Dream Party.
“Everyone must go to the polling station to vote, and we must fill up Liberty Square on October 3rd. If there are 100,000 people, no one can beat us,” he said.
“Look—I took all risks—my life, freedom, everything, in order to be here. I only want you to do one thing—to vote,” he said.
The president of Georgian Dreams Irakli Kobashidze accused Saakashvili of falsifying the video and said he was not in the country.
“As for Saakashvili: 1. Saakashvili is not in Georgia; 2. This person is a “clown”, we told you yesterday and the day before yesterday, and he confirmed it; 3. I hope he is in Georgia, In this case, the whole society will see what kind of “clown” Mikhail Saakashvili is, which will end the ugliness in Georgian politics, including polarization,” he said.
“Mikhail Saakashvili is not in Batumi, and Mikhail Saakashvili’s video is not recorded in Georgia. This is what I can boldly tell you,” Kobasidze added.
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Since the parliamentary elections last year, tensions between the Georgian Dream and the opposition have escalated, with government opponents claiming that the election was rigged.
International observers said at the time that elections were highly competitive and fundamental freedoms were generally respected.
Saturday’s municipal elections were seen as a key test for the increasingly unpopular ruling party.
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