President Margvelashvili condemns Tbilisi explosion:’Terrorist act goes against democracy’

President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili says the car explosion of an opposition Member of Parliament in central Tbilisi last night was a "terrorist act".

Margvelashvili made this strong comment when he spoke to a group of students at the Vaziani Military Base earlier today about the explosion that seriously injured five members of the public, that also injured car owner Givi Targamadze himself.

A car belonging to a Member of Parliament was bombed in the city centre. Fortunately there are no casualties. I would like to express hope that the injured will get better soon and we will not have casualties as a result of a terrorist act in our city," said Margvelashvili today.

He said the incident was an "attack on normal democratic process" and represented a "struggle of the criminal world against the public and politicians".

Margvelashvili called on all political parties to be aware of their members’ intentions and to "filter out" any "reckless elements" from their ranks.

Unfortunately, there are certain reckless elements in the political parties. We could directly call them criminal elements who see physical reprisal as a political process.

I would like to urge politicians to muster their power and react by localising people of this mentality, by filtering them out from their ranks, in their own interest."

Five people were seriously injured after MP Targamadze’s car exploded about 20:10 last night. 

Targamadze was sitting in the front passenger seat of his car, returning home from the office when the back of his car exploded.  The vehicle was near the UNM office in central Tbilisi, near the flower market, and was being driven by the MP’s driver. Both men suffered minor injuries, while five people passing by were taken to hospital in various conditions.

Authorities announced today the five hospitalised people were in a stable condition however one remained in Intensive Care on a ventilator.

An investigation has been launched for "attempted murder under aggravating circumstances".

The First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia Besik Amiranashvili told local media from the site last night his office would "do everything to find out the reason for the explosion, as soon as possible".