Sandra Roelofs refuses to participate in second round of parliamentary elections

Today, on October 23, Sandra Roelofs, who runs for a seat in the Georgian Parliament as a majority candidate from the Zugdidi District, has announced her decision to abandon participation in the second round of the parliamentary elections.

"It makes no sense to participate in the second round of these elections, since my victory was taken away in the first round. For me, it is an insult to take part in falsified elections, which take place under the pressure of criminals and authorities. I want to thank all the voters who gave their voices to me," stated Sandra Roelofs as quoted by the "Interfax".

Meanwhile, according to the legislation of Georgia, the name of Sandra Roelofs will appear on ballots in the second round, the newspaper "Georgia-Online" reports.

After the election results of the first round had been announced, Mikhail Saakashvili, the former President of Georgia and the husband of Sandra Roelofs, called on the "United National Movement" (UNM) Party to boycott the second round and give up seats in the Parliament in order not to participate in legitimization of the elections held with violations. However, at a meeting of the political council of the "UNM" Party, the Mikhail Saakashvili's proposal was rejected by a majority of votes as a step towards marginalization.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.