Georgia’s President gives one week extension to approve new Cabinet

Georgia’s President Giorgi Margvelashvili has given one week’s notice to the Prime Minister and Parliament to allow them to continue consultations in a "calmer situation”.

He said he was using his right under the Georgian Constitution, and has postponed his signature on the list of new Government members.

"I want to remind you that we have difficult challenges ahead. As a commander in chief I want to ask – How often should we change the Minister of Defence? And in this hard condition I want to give the opportunity to PM and Parliament to discuss it in a calmer situation,” underlined the President while explaining the reasons for his decision.

The President made his announcement about an hour after Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili named his nominees for the posts of Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, Minister of Environment Protection and Minister of Defence.

The positions of Ministers of Sports and Environment were vacant after the resignations of two Cabinet members in the past week.

The change of the Defence Minister was also announced by the head of the Government earlier this morning.

Meanwhile Parliament Speaker David Usupashvili, in response to President Margvelashvili’s decision, said the President was allowed to make such a decision by the Georgian Constitution.

"To think a bit more, [this action] never is bad and harmful. Now the country has an acting Government and it continues to work.”

"The President has the right to do it, is allowed by the Constitution and we should respect his decision,” said Usupashvili.