Georgia kicks off municipal elections

A woman casts ballot at a polling station in Tbilisi Oct. 2, 2021. Georgia on Saturday held municipal elections to vote 64 mayors and 2,068 city council members. (Photo by Kulumbegashvili Tamuna/Xinhua)

TBILISI, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Georgia on Saturday kicked off municipal elections across the country to vote 64 mayors and 2,068 city council members.

According to the country's Central Election Commission (CEC), 3,743 polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time and will be closed at 8 p.m. for about 3.5 million eligible voters.

A total of 43 political parties are registered for the local elections, said the CEC on its website, adding that 31,310 observers from 100 local organizations and 1,024 foreign observers from 52 international organizations will monitor the race.

The CEC also called upon every party involved in the elections to refrain from spreading false or unverified information which may pose threats to the electoral environment.

The last municipal elections in Georgia were held in 2017.