Ruling party MPs slam For Georgia initiative on re-shift to direct presidential elections

The MPs of the ruling Georgian Dream on Tuesday slammed the latest initiative by the For Georgia opposition party on the constitutional shift to direct presidential elections to ensure balance between governmental branches. 

In his comments, Irakli Zarkua, said Giorgi Gakharia, the former prime minister under the GD leadership who quit the post and the party in 2021, remained in the ruling force in 2017 when changes were implemented in the country’s main law that changed the procedures for presidential elections starting from 2024. 

He claimed the opposition had exhausted “meaningful topics and is now resorting to inventing nonsense.”

“Why bring up the idea of electing the president nationwide now, especially when the role is primarily representative? What’s the logic behind this recall? Where were these arguments before? It seems they lack substantial topics and struggle to address critical issues like the economy, peace, and European integration, leading them to invent these nonsensical proposals,” Zarkua said.

Incumbent Salome Zourabichvili’s term as the fifth president of Georgia officially concludes this year and she will be the last president to be directly elected by citizens, as her successor will be chosen by a 300-member electoral college approved by the Central Election Commission, in accordance with the 2017 amendments to domestic laws.