PREVIEW: Georgia will hold parliamentary elections – World

TBILISI, October 26. /TASS/. Georgia holds parliamentary elections on Saturday.

The ruling party Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia, in power since 2012, is seeking its fourth consecutive victory.

18 parties take part in the elections. The four main opposition parties include Unity – National Movement, whose backbone is former President Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement, former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia’s Gakharia for Georgia party, the Strong Georgia coalition, and the Coalition for Change. The four plan to form a coalition government if they manage to collect more seats in total than the Georgian Dream party.

The Patriots Alliance, which promotes traditional values ​​and calls for dialogue with Russia, is also expected to pass the five percent threshold to enter parliament.

The situation in the country remains generally calm, as Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has repeatedly said. However, the ruling party said attempts to create instability could be made the day after the October 27 election. A few days before the vote, the Georgian government approved a list of strategic facilities, which now includes the building of the Central Election Commission. Blocking these sites is punishable by law.

This will be the first Georgia election involving the use of electronic ballot processing. About 74% of polling stations in the country have been equipped with electronic ballot boxes, which make it possible to count ballots with just one click and reduce the risk of ballot fraud.

Approximately 3,111 polling stations will open their doors to a total of 3.5 million voters from Georgia and other countries. The election will be held from 8:00 (4:00 GMT) to 20:00 (16:00 GMT) local time. The Central Electoral Commission is to announce the first results of the vote within two hours of the closing of the polling stations.