Saakashvili detained in Georgia

On 1 October, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said at an emergency briefing that the country's third president, Mikheil Saakashvili, had been arrested because of a joint special operation by the Interior Ministry and the State Security Service.

According to Garibashvili, the Georgian special services tracked the movement of the ex-president from Ukraine to Georgia.

Saakashvili’s arrest was confirmed the information spread since Friday morning that Mikheil Saakashvili was indeed in Batumi, where he filmed a video and published it on the Internet.

Mikheil Saakashvili was sentenced in absentia to three years in jail in the case of abuse of power when pardoning those convicted of the murder of businessman Sandro Girgvliani and six years in the case of the 2005 beating of parliament member Valery Gelashvili. He is also facing other charges. Saakashvili called his criminal prosecution a political order of the leader of the "Georgian Dream" Bidzina Ivanishvili, whom, in his opinion, Russia is behind. In 2015, Ukraine refused to extradite Mikheil Saakashvili to Georgia.

Earlier it was reported that the former president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, returned to Georgia despite the criminal sentences imposed on him in the country.

Saakashvili posted videos on Facebook in which he claims to be in Batumi. Saakashvili urged citizens to go to the polls on October 2 and then gather in the centre of Tbilisi.

Saakashvili, who spent his last years in Ukraine, previously announced that he would return to Georgia on the day of local elections, on the evening of October 2.

Zourabichvili ruled out pardon for Saakashvili

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili is not going to forgive the third president of the country, Mikheil Saakashvili. She stressed that "everyone is equal before the law."

On October 1 Mikheil Saakashvili said that he had returned to Georgia, and then clarified that he was in Batumi. The politician published a video message, recorded against the backdrop of the streets of the night city, and called on his supporters to vote with him in the municipal elections on October 2 and to gather in the centre of Tbilisi on October 3.

Mikheil Saakashvili announced his return to Georgia in advance but said that this would happen on October 2, the day of the municipal elections. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili warned that the former president would be arrested at the airport.

Saakashvili goes on hunger strike in prison

The third president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, has declared a hunger strike because he does not agree with the charges brought against him and considers himself a political prisoner, said public defender Nino Lomjaria.

Public Defender of Georgia Nino Lomjaria met in prison with the former Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili, to find out whether his rights had been infringed upon during his detention. At the end of the meeting, she said that Saakashvili went on a hunger strike because of disagreement with the charges brought against him. "He (Saakashvili) went on a hunger strike because he disagrees with the accusation and considers himself a political prisoner. As a citizen of Ukraine, he demands a meeting with the consul" she said.

According to her, Saakashvili said that during the arrest he opened the door of the apartment for the security forces, in which he was alone. He did not show any resistance, force was not used during the arrest and subsequently was not used against him, Lomjaria noted.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is concerned

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is concerned about the news of the detention of former President Mikheil Saakashvili in Georgia. This statement was made by the press secretary of the President of Ukraine Serhiy Nikiforov. "Ukraine appeals to the Georgian side for an explanation of all the circumstances and reasons for such a step towards a Ukrainian citizen," Nikiforov said.

According to Garibashvili, the Georgian special services tracked the movement of the ex-president from Ukraine to Georgia. It is reported that Saakashvili was taken to the Rustavi prison. Soon he went on a hunger strike and demanded a meeting with the consul of Ukraine, the ombudsman of Georgia Nino Lomjaria said after meeting with the former president.

Mikheil Saakashvili, detained in Georgia, is a Ukrainian citizen, so he will receive all the necessary support from Kiev, said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba.

The ruling party leads the elections in Georgia

After processing ballots from more than 38 percent of polling stations, Georgian Dream won 48.56 percent of the vote in municipal elections. The current head of the city, Kakha Kaladze, is in the lead in the elections for the mayor of Tbilisi based on the results of counting votes from more than 40 percent of polling stations, the Georgian Central Election Commission said.

In Georgia on October 2, voting took place in the elections of mayors and deputies of local assemblies. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili congratulated members of the ruling Georgian Dream party on winning the elections, while United National Movement expressed confidence that the opposition has bypassed the ruling party at least in Tbilisi. Municipal elections in Georgia were generally normal, with 366 complaints received by the district election commissions, the CEC reported. The turnout in the elections exceeded 50%.

The Central Election Commission of Georgia processed ballots from 38.63 percent of polling stations.

As a result, the ruling Georgian Dream party won 48.56 percent of the vote, ahead of the opposition United National Movement, which was supported by 32.32 percent of voters.

In third place, by a significant margin, is the party of former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia "For Georgia" - it received 6.87 percent of the vote, followed by "Girchi More Freedom" with 4.8 percent, "Lelo" - 2.6 percent, European Georgia - 1.82 percent, Alliance of Patriots of Georgia - 1.42 percent, Third Power - 1.27 percent, Labor Party of Georgia - 1.25 percent, Girchi - More Freedom - 1 , 04 percent, "Citizens" - 0.61 percent, "For the people" - 0.6 percent.

After counting votes from 41.61 percent of the polling stations in the elections for the mayor of Tbilisi, Kakha Kaladze won 45.5 percent of the vote, opposition leader Nika Melia - 34.13 percent, ex-Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Gakharia is in third place with 8.97 percent of the vote.