Two people were injured on 24 October during a skirmish near the office of the opposition candidate for mayor of Rustavi, the candidate said. The opposition suggested that supporters of the ruling party participated in the attack.

On October 2, voting took place in Georgia in the elections of mayors and deputies of local assemblies. The second round of elections is scheduled to take place in Tbilisi, Rustavi, Kutaisi, Poti, Batumi and 15 other cities of Georgia on October 30, as those cities’ candidates for mayor did not receive the required number of votes.

Observers stated that abuse of administrative resources and pressuring observers were the most common violations during voting in the municipal elections on October 2.

Representatives of opposition parties, including the leader of the United National Movement, Nika Melia, the leader of the Lelo party, Badri Japaridze, and the leader of the Droa party, Elena Khoshtaria, reacted to the incident in Rustavi with a joint statement. “We categorically demand that in the next few hours all the attackers who attacked Kirkitadze’s headquarters be punished in full,” Nika Melia flagged.

The incident in Rustavi, according to the opposition, was the result of the authorities' refusal to punish those who attack opposition representatives.

Police have launched an investigation into the incident near David Kirkitadze's headquarters in Rustavi, a Georgian Interior Ministry official said. According to him, the case was initiated under Article 126 of the Criminal Code of Georgia (violence).

Recall that at the end of September, on the eve of the elections, former President Mikheil Saakashvili returned to Georgia, even though he had been convicted in absentia in two Georgian criminal cases. The former president was arrested and went on a hunger strike in protest, while Saakashvili's supporters have repeatedly protested to demand his release.