Along with parliamentary elections and elections for local legislative body in Adjara, local by-elections for gamgebeli (head of municipality) and mayoral offices were held in six localities on October 8 with races going into second round in four of them between GDDG and UNM candidates.

GDDG candidates won outright victories in the first round in the race for gamgebeli of Chiatura and Tsalenjikha municipalities –Zurab Kupatadze with 51% of votes, and Besik Partsvania with 58.7%, respectively. UNM did not field its candidates for gamgebeli in these two municipalities.

In a mayoral race in the town of Akhaltsikhe in Samtskhe-Javakheti region, UNM’s Irakli Ereklishvili has a 9-point lead – 46% to 37% – over his closest rival, GDDG’s Vladimer Zedgenidze; the two will face each other in the second round runoff as no candidate received more than half of the votes in the first round.
 
In the race for gamgebeli of Zugdidi municipality in Samegrelo region, UNM’s Besik Gabunia has a slight lead over GDDG’s Lasha Gogia – 45.59% to 43.07% – in the first round. The two will face each other in the runoff.

Race for Bolnisi gamgebeli in Kvemo Kartli region also went into the second round between GDDG’s Davit Sherazadishvili (49.05%) and UNM’s Tristan Beridze (30.7%).

In Kharagauli in Imereti region, GDDG’s Nikoloz Topuridze (49.87%) will face UNM’s Tamaz Lomidze (23.18%) in the second round of gamgebeli race.

Those elected in these by-elections will remain in office before the local elections in October, 2017.