PM Garibashvili slams opposition’s shadow cabinet for Tbilisi

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has slammed the opposition’s shadow cabinet for Tbilisi, while incumbent Tbilisi mayor Kakha Kaladze said that the nomination of the cabinet was ‘funny’ when the ruling party has majority in Tbilisi City Council and the opposition has no resources to compose the government of the capital city at all.

Head of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party Nika Melia stated yesterday that after he defeats Kaladze in the mayoral run-off on October 30, his deputies will be Lelo opposition party founder Mamuka Khazaradze, Girchi-More Freedom party head Zurab Japaridze, Droa leader Elene Khoshtaria, and opposition member Irakli Abesadze. 

Kaladze came first in the first round of the race with 45 percent of the vote. However, 50%+1 vote was mandatory for winning the elections. 

Garibashvili reiterated that the UNM will be defeated in the run-offs and ‘ended’ after the elections, while the presentation of the shadow cabinet was another attempt by the party to mislead the public. 

He also criticized Khazaradze, one of the founders of TBC Bank who entered politics after being charged with laundering more than 16 million USD in 2019, and described him as a ‘servant’ of ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. 

Garibashvili said that Khazaradze was involved in the UNM’s ‘criminal activities’ while in office, ‘when businessmen were brought to TBC Bank’s branches to give their properties to the UNM.’ 

Khazaradze says that he offered Melia to nominate his candidacy for deputy-Tbilisi mayor. 

The ruling party received 47% of the vote in the proportional part of the elections, and won 44 of 64 mayoral and majoritarian constituencies in the first round of elections on October 2.

The run-offs will be held only in 20 of 64 mayoral and majoritarian constituencies, in which the ruling party and the UNM candidates will compete for 17 constituencies.