The ruling Georgian Dream party on Wednesday accused president Salome Zourabichvili of alleged deliberate actions to hamper the work of the country’s national bank, by not presenting candidates for two vacant positions in the bank’s board. 

The party cited the president as saying that she planned to present her nominees by the end of this year, with the GD claiming such a delay would create obstacles for smooth operations in the country’s major bank, as well as the election of its new chair, due to the absence of a mandatory number of  board members. 

The GD claimed in response it would pass the amendments that would ensure an “uninterrupted work” of the institution, saying the president had earlier also hampered the activities of the country’s foreign office by not approving the ambassadors proposed by the government - which Zourabichvili dismissed - and the country’s central election commission. 

“There are clear signs the president is purposefully creating an obstacle to the smooth activities of the national bank with her actions. In such conditions, the parliament will have to overcome the veto [on the bill related to the bank] and finally adopt the amendments to ensure the smooth operation of the bank. The parliament will complete the veto-overcoming procedure in the next session week”, the party announced. 

The president has many times criticized the government for its stance on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and “demonizing the west” amid the European Union’s forthcoming decision on the country’s membership candidate status by the end of this year.