Lelo opposition party nominates candidates for Tbilisi mayor, head of city assembly
Ana Bibilashvili will run for Tbilisi mayor on behalf of the centrist Lelo opposition party. Photo: Lelo for Georgia press office.
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Centrist opposition party Lelo for Georgia has nominated candidates for Tbilisi mayor and head of Tbilisi City Assembly late yesterday, ahead of the October 2 municipal elections.
The party co-founders Ana Bibilashvili will run for Tbilisi mayor, while Badri Japaridze will fight to chair Tbilisi City Assembly.
Ana is a successful woman, mother, professional, architect and professor,” head of the party Mamuka Khazaradze stated.
He said that Lelo’s major competitors in the upcoming elections are ‘unemployment, poverty and nihilism’ and not any concrete party or politician.
Four other opposition parties, the United National Movement, Droa, European Georgia and Girchi have earlier nominated joint candidates for the positions.
- Opposition parties put forward Melia for Tbilisi mayor, Droa leader Khoshtaria for Sakrebulo chair
- Four opposition parties present joint candidates for Tbilisi City Assembly
The Lelo for Georgia opposition party was founded back in 2019 by founders of TBC Bank of Georgia Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze.
Both decided to enter politics after they were charged with laundering 16.7 million USD in the summer of 2019.
Georgian Public Defender Nino Lomjaria said in 2020 that there were ‘no signs of money laundering’ in the Khazaradze-Japaridze case.
Four opposition parties, the United National Movement (UNM), Droa, Girchi-More Freedom and European Georgia have presented joint majoritarian candidates for Tbilisi City Assembly ahead of the October 2 municipal elections.
Georgian Dream ruling party has officially named Kakha Kaladze, Mayor of Tbilisi, as its candidate for a second term in the position, ahead of the municipal elections set to be held in October.
Public Defender of Georgia Nino Lomjaria says there is no evidence pointing at signs of money laundering in an ongoing case against TBC Bank founders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, who were charged by the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia on July 24, 2019 for laundering $16.7 million.
A Tbilisi City Court has set 700, 000 GEL bail each for TBC Bank co-founders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze. They also have been banned from leaving the country without the consent of the prosecutors. The Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office demanded one million GEL bail from each as a restraining measure.
The opposition United National Movement (UNM) party claims the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party will not receive more than 35% of votes in the four cities of Georgia in the upcoming municipal elections.
Nigerian businessman Arinze Richard Ogbunuju, who has been nominated for Tbilisi mayor in the October 2 municipal elections by Our United Georgia initiative group, says that incumbent Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, who has been renominated for the post by the ruling Georgian Dream party, ‘has already done his utmost.’
Lelo for Georgia opposition party leader Mamuka Khazaradze performed several songs as part of a pre-election campaign in front of the Marjanishvili metro station on September 25. Khazaradze performing Hey Jude – a song by the English rock band the Beatles, and popular Georgian songs with street musicians went viral on social media after the release on Saturday.