On 30 October, Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia urged people to make their choice at ballot boxes as the elections will define the country’s development for years to come. “The pre-election period was absolutely calm, transparent and democratic. It is the responsibility of the government, the opposition and the whole public, for the election day tomorrow, as well as the post-election period, to be also calm and democratic, in the full line with the top international standards. Any violation or provocations will be strongly punished, no matter of political possessions,” Gakharia emphasised. He added that voting tomorrow will be ‘absolutely safe’ and people should not be afraid of contracting Covid-19 at the polling stations. 

In order to create a secure environment for the elections, mobile police groups were created in the country. The Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that if necessary, the mobile groups are obliged to instantly react to offences during the elections. 

The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) Executive Secretary Irakli Kobakhidze accused the opposition United National Movement (UNM) members Dimitri Shashkin, Nika Melia and Devi Chankotadze of planning to lead “groups of provocateurs” on election day. “The groups of people who have been mobilised by the UNM to stage the provocations include former soldiers and policemen who also have the right to carry weapons. The information has leaked from the UNM office and we have the list of the individuals,” he stated. He added that the UNM has plans to spark tensions in Bolnisi, Dmanisi, Marneuli and Zugdidi municipalities, in Batumi and in the Gldani district of Tbilisi. He also said that the GD would win more than 100 seats in the country’s new parliament constitution.

Meanwhile, the opposition political parties in the country agreed not to form a coalition government with the GD if the party receives less than 40% of votes in the proportional elections. The signatories to the agreement were Strategy Aghmashenebeli, Girchi, European Georgia (EG), European Democrats, Law and Justice, United Georgia, UNM, Labor Party and Republican Party. The joint statement of the opposition political parties read that the GD Chairman Bidzina Ivanishvili’s eight-year oligarchic governance has significantly weakened the country’s democratic institutions, damaged Georgia’s strategic economic prospects, including the construction of the Anaklia deep-water port and has prevented western investors from entering the project. The statement also emphasised that the current government weakened Georgia’s negotiations with Russia on the country’s de-occupation issues.

It was also reported that 6 individuals died and 10 were wounded in a road accident near Gori, central Georgia, after attending the UNM rally in Tbilisi (Caucasus Watch reported).

According to a public opinion poll commissioned by the opposition-minded TV channel Mtavari Arkhi, the GD would receive 23%, UNM 18%, Strategy Aghmashenebeli 4%, EG 4%, Lelo 3%, Labour party 2%, and Girchi, Alliance of Patriots, United Georgia and Citizens party 1% in tomorrow’s votes.

The European Union announced the deployment of a European diplomatic watch, which will send over 70 teams to visit over 1,000 polling stations in Georgia on election day. The EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell stated that ‘what is most important for us, and for EU-Georgia relations, is not who will win these elections, but how these elections will be won.’ Hartzell added that he hopes for ‘more constructive policy debates and an improved culture of consensus-building’ for the fully proportional elections in 2024.  

The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Jim Risch and Senator Jeanne Shaheen made a joint statement ahead of the elections. “Since we travelled together to observe Georgia’s 2012 parliamentary elections, we have watched democracy deepen and the economy grow. As Georgians prepare to vote in this weekend’s parliamentary elections, it is important that all parties respect and abide by international standards for a free and fair electoral process, and maintain the integrity of the ballot box,” the statement read.