Inter-Agency Task Force for Free and Fair Elections (IATF) at the National Security Council of Georgia condemned a fistfight incident in the village of Mereti, which thwarted a campaign meeting of Georgian Dream leader Bidzina Ivanishvili with locals on June 26.

Without putting blame on any side, IATF called on political parties and their supporters “to keep distance” between people with opposing views while holding public campaign meetings in order to prevent incidents similar to the one in Mereti village.

IATF, which was established to monitor and react on election-related complaints and violations, also called on the police to keep a watchful eye on campaign meetings and “to take appropriate measures and react timely to prevent physical confrontation between citizens with opposing views.”

Four men – two of them Georgian Dream activists – have been arrested and jailed for ten days for a fistfight incident in the village of Mereti.