Kaladze says ruling party ready for local elections, avoids confirming mayoral bid

Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze has said that the ruling Georgian Dream party had already begun preparations for the upcoming local self-government elections, emphasizing ongoing engagement with the public as the party’s “greatest strength.”

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Kaladze highlighted the importance of the municipal vote, noting that it directly affected residents’ living conditions in neighborhoods, districts, towns, and villages across the country.

“We never stop communicating with people - that is one of our team’s greatest advantages,” Kaladze said. “We’ve already started preparing for the elections. Ours is the only party with a clear and concrete vision of what needs to be done in the capital and how to address challenges.”

While he praised the government’s track record on infrastructure and development projects, Kaladze declined to comment on opposition parties, saying they had yet to clarify whether they would participate in the elections or who their mayoral candidate would be.

“It’s not my business to talk about the opposition. They can’t even figure out whether they’re running or who they’re nominating,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter who runs or in what format -what matters is that we are ready.”

When asked directly whether he would seek re-election as mayor of Tbilisi, Kaladze offered only a cryptic response: “You seem very nervous about my candidacy. Would you be happy, as a citizen, if I remained mayor? Just wait - everything will become clear in time.”

He also confirmed that Georgian Dream will present its majoritarian candidates in August, including several new faces.

“We’ll present our candidates in August and share full details with the public,” Kaladze said. “It’s important to maintain direct contact with voters - our current representatives have never stopped doing that, and our new candidates will join the process from day one.”