Gov’t Minister departs post to run in Tbilisi Mayoral election

The country’s Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Davit Narmania, will stand down from his Government role as he prepares to run in the Tbilisi Mayoral election. 

Narmania has been named as ruling Georgian Dream (GD) coalition’s candidate to challenge the Tbilisi Mayoral office in the local elections in June. He said he would step down as Minister "in the next few days”.

Narmania, who today held his last press conference as a Minister, summed up his 18-months work as Georgia’s Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development and said he was confident of winning the Mayoral spot in the first election round without requiring a runoff.

"The runoff is not a scarecrow. It is very usual for democratic countries. I believe setting the runoff will not be needed,” Narmania said.

Immediately when the date of the election was officially announced Narmania said he would resign.

The President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili said in his annual address in Parliament in February that he planned to set the local elections date for June 15, 2014.

Last year the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development spent 800 million GEL on infrastructure development in the country. This was 130 million GEL more than in 2012.

"Intense work has been undertaken on road, water and waste dump infrastructure development,” he said.

In addition, 2.4 million GEL has been allocated for the construction of 81 new rural medical clinics across the country and a new Tetnuldi ski track will be constructed in Svaneti.

In a bid to improve the living conditions of Georgia’s internally displaced persons (IDPs), the Ministry granted 335 internally displaced families with apartments. The buildings in nine cities where IDP’s live have also been renovated.