Former Parliament Speaker David Usupashvili running for presidency

Former Parliament Speaker of Georgia David Usupashvili has announced today that he will run for president.

Usupashvili, who is one of the most experienced politicians in Georgia, chaired the eighth Parliament of Georgia for four years from 2012 to 2016.

He appeared in parliament after the 2012 parliamentary elections, when the Georgian Dream coalition defeated the nine-year rule of the United National Movement. 

Before the 2016 parliamentary elections, the Republican Party split from the coalition and announced that it would run separately. The Republicans were unable to win seats in the newly-elected parliament in 2016. 

Usupashvili, who served as chairperson of the Republican Party in 2005-2013, quit the  party after the 2016 elections as he could not agree with other leaders of the party about the party’s future. 

Last year Usupashvili initiated the creation of the ‘Development Movement’, stating that neither the ruling party nor the current opposition could settle key issues for Georgia. 

The movement’s main goal is winning the 2020 parliamentary elections. 

Presidential elections is scheduled on October 28.