Georgian Dream accused of attacking opposition candidate Vashadze's staff
TBILISI. Oct 30 (Interfax) - The head of the campaign staff of Georgian opposition presidential candidate Grigol Vashadze has accused supporters of the ruling party, Georgian Dream, of attacking Vashadze's campaign staff in Akhalkalaki in southern Georgia, seriously injuring three members.
Giorgi Vashadze (no relation to the candidate) said 20 people armed with sticks attacked the Akhalkalaki headquarters.
"We have learned that the attack was committed by members of the ruling party, Georgian Dream. They inflicted serious injuries on three members of our campaign staff," he said.
Giorgi Vashadze called on the Interior Ministry to detain the assailants immediately and hold them criminally liable.
"Our candidate absolutely won in the first round of the election in Akhalkalaki, but there have been attempts to snatch this win away from us through various manipulations at the district election commission, and now they are trying to scare us," he said.
The Georgian Central Elections Commission (CEC) reported earlier on Tuesday that district commissions would look into about 500 complaints from observers regarding the election on Sunday.
Vashadze's campaign has demanded a full recount.
Citing nongovernmental organizations that also counted the ballots, it claimed that Vashadze won the first round with 39% of the vote, while his main opponent, independent candidate Salome Zourabichvili, who is supported by Georgian Dream, got 37%.
The CEC said Zourabichvili won 38.6% and Vashadze 37.7% of the vote in the first round.