Interior Minister Gakharia nominated PM, ex-PM Garibashvili to return as defence minister
Giorgi Gakharia has been the Interior Minister in November 2017. Photo: Interior Ministry press office.
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The Georgian Dream (GD) ruling party has nominated current Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia to take up the premiership, following the resignation of Mamuka Bakhtadze yesterday.
If the parliament approves the new cabinet former PM Irakli Garibashvili will take the post of defence minister, while current minister Levan Izoria will chair the National Security Council.
Ivanishvili (in the middle) said that Bakhtadze (L) did his job successfully. Photo: Georgian Dream press office.
The current head of the State Security Service Vakhtang Gomelauri has been nominated to replace Gakharia as Interior Minister.
The candidates have been presented by the founder and head of the ruling party Bidzina Ivanishvili, who ‘praised Gakharia for his deeds’ as business ombudsman, minister of economy and interior minister.
I presented Gakharia as a candidate for the premiership and received full support both from the political council of the Georgian Dream and the parliamentary majority. I think that parliament will approve Gakharia,” Ivanishvili said.
Gakharia thanked Ivanishvili “for the huge trust,” and said that he will present the cabinet and the government plan for MPs in parliament later today.
It is a big responsibility. I want to thank Ivanishvili for the trust and my predecessor for his achievements,” Gakharia said.
Garibashvili returned to politics earlier this year, shortly after the return of Ivanishvili as the party chair. Photo: Georgian Dream press office.
A number of demonstrators who have been protesting the dispersal of a rally held on June 20-21 gathered in front of the Georgian Dream’s headquarters, stating Gakharia’s appointment to the position “is unacceptable, and it offends the Georgian people.”
At least 76 votes in the 150-member parliament are required to approve the new PM and the cabinet.
The parliamentary opposition has suspended the first day of the autumn session in parliament with whistles and loud statements, protesting the nomination of Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia as the new PM of the country. A member of the European Georgia opposition Elene Khoshtaria started whistling as soon as the national anthem finished in parliament earlier today,
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze has confirmed his resignation in a long Facebook post earlier today, in which he cited the key challenges Georgia faces, in addition to the achievements the country has seen during his tenure.
Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia has given a televised explanation about the June 20 rally on Rustaveli Avenue in central Tbilisi that was dispersed by police after a part of the demonstrators decided to storm the parliament building, as a result of which 305 people were detained and 240 injured.
Former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili is going to become the chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party again. Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Kvirikashvili announced changes in the ruling party management today at the briefing.
He said, Bidzina Ivanishvili’s decision will have a positive influence on the country’s political life and will serve as a new stimulus for the party.
Out of Georgia’s 18-member Cabinet, 14 ministers remained the same, one had switched from one ministry to another and three ministers were new. Learn more about the new names in Georgia’s Cabinet below.
Peaceful demonstrations in front of the parliament of Georgia have resumed for the 76th consecutive day, this time protesting Giorgi Gakharia’s nomination as next Prime Minister.
Demonstrators, who have been protesting the presence of Russian MPs in the Georgian parliament on June 20 and demanding the resignation of Gakharia from Interior Minister’s position following the rally dispersal, gathered at 7 p.m. to protest his “promotion”.
The Georgian Dream ruling party candidate for the premiership Giorgi Gakharia has already submitted the names of the nominees in the new cabinet to parliament which excludes only current Defence Minister Levan Izoria and nominates current head of the State Security Service Vakhtang Gomelauri as the replacement of Gakharia.
The government plan for 2019-2020, submitted to parliament by the candidate for the premiership Giorgi Gakharia, reads that the top goal of the new government will be taking more active steps for Georgia’s faster integration into NATO and the EU and the further strengthening of relations with the US.
The Georgian Dream ruling party has nominated Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia for the premiership earlier today which has been followed by harsh criticism of the opposition and demonstrators who have been protesting the rally dispersal on Rustaveli Avenue on June 20-21 for 76 days.
Georgian Defence MInister Irakli Garibashvili will attend the meetings of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) at the level of Defence Ministers at the NATO Headquarters, which is held in Brussels on October 24-25. He will also meet with the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, as well as his counterparts from Finland, Poland, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom.