Lelo leader Khazaradze: I’ll move to Tsalenjikha, assist newly appointed opposition mayor
Lelo leader announced his decision while delivering his speech at the opposition rally in the city of Zugdidi last evening. Photo: Mamuka Khazaradze's Facebook page
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The leader of the Lelo opposition party, Mamuka Khazaradze, has said that he will move to the western Georgian town of Tsalenjikha, and assist the newly appointed opposition mayor.
Khazaradze announced his decision while delivering his speech at the opposition rally in the city of Zugdidi last evening.
Tsalenjikha is a town of freedom, and I congratulate all its residents… I will move to Tsalenjikha and buy an apartment soon. I will stand by the newly appointed mayor of Tsalenjikha and use all my experience to turn Tsalenjikha into an oasis, Khazaradze said.
Khazaradze further called on businesspeople to transfer their companies’ accounts and leave their profits in Tsalenjikha.
Khazaradze, who is a co-founder of JSC TBC Bank in Georgia, entered politics in 2019, shortly after he was charged with laundering 16.7 million USD along with his business partner, Badri Japaridze.
Tsalenjikha is the only town in Georgia where the opposition candidate from the United National Movement (UNM), Giorgi Kharchilava, won over the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) candidate, Goga Gulordava, in the 2021 mayoral elections.
The opposition won the majority in municipal assemblies in seven out of 64 municipalities: Batumi, Zugdidi, Martvili, Chkhorotsku, Tsalenjikha, Rustavi and Senaki.