PM Garibashvili meets newly elected mayors from various municipalities, pledges support
Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili has discussed the challenges in various Georgian regions and emphasised the importance of their effective solution during the meeting with the mayors. Photo: Government Administration.
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Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has met with the newly elected mayors from municipalities across Georgia and pledged the support of the central government in the undertaking of projects.
Garibashvili has spoken of the needs and challenges each region faces and has emphasised the importance of cooperation between mayors and state representatives.
The importance of undertaking priority projects for the population was also on the agenda of the meetings, the government administration reports.
It has been a few days since the mayors took office, so we have already studied some issues...We briefed the Prime Minister on future plans and engagement,” the State representative of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, Davit Nozadze, said.
The Mayor of Dusheti municipality from the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region, Manana Narimanidze, said the main challenges of Dusheti are problems related to road infrastructure, water supply and gas supply, along with the issue of several villages left without electricity.
The main challenge will be the solution of these problems and social programs. We are at this stage now and the budget planning process is underway,” Narimanidze said.
Newly elected Rustavi mayor Nino Latsabidze also attended the meeting with the PM and noted that they plan to undertake ‘strong social and health services’ along with infrastructure projects. Photo: Government Administration.
Vakhtang Maisuradze, mayor of the Kaspi municipality in the Shida Kartli region, said that the renovation of roads and several streets, as well as the solution of a drinking water supply problem in several villages, is planned.
The biggest problem for the region is the water supply, the project of which has already been launched, and we hope that it will be completed very soon,” State representative of the Kakheti region, Irakli Shioshvili, sad.
The Mayor of Lagodekhi municipality, Jondo Mdivnishvili praised the meeting with the PM, calling it an ‘interesting and meaningful meeting’ where the importance of closer communication with the population was emphasised.
Local self-government elections took place in Georgia in October, in which the ruling party Georgian Dream (GD) won mayoral elections in 63 of 64 constituencies, and gained 47% in the proportional part of the race.
However, the opposition has won the majority in seven out of 64 municipalities – Batumi, Zugdidi, Martvili, Chkhorotsku, Tsalenjikha, Rustavi, and Senaki and the opposition United National Movement (UNM) mayoral candidate Giorgi Kharchilava won in the western Tsalenjikha municipality.
Former Georgian prime minister Giorgi Gakharia's For Georgia party member Shota Tsurtsumia has been elected the chairman of Chkhorotsku Municipal Assembly. In winning the spot, Tsurtsumia has become the first opposition member in the country to be elected an assembly head.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party says that it has used the opportunity ‘ensured by the law and the state constitution’ to approve the 2022 budget in five municipalities, in some of which its party members will no longer control the local city assembly following the recent October municipal elections.
The city assembly members elected in the 2017 municipal elections approved the 2022 municipal budget in Zugdidi and Batumi earlier today prior to the convening of new city assemblies which were elected in recent, October municipal elections.
Urban renewal, tourism and business development projects will be undertaken in a total of seven Georgian municipalities in 2021-22 for which the EU will disburse about 4 million GEL (about $1,270,123/€1,109,754), the Georgian government administration reports.
The opposition has won the majority in city assemblies in seven out of 64 municipalities – Batumi, Zugdidi, Martvili, Chkhorotsku, Tsalenjikha, Rustavi and Senaki. GD head Irakli Kobakhidze stated that ‘the majority will be formed on the basis of negotiations with the members of the city councils,’ in municipalities where GD lost the majority, noting that ‘work on the issue has already started successfully.’
A number of ruling party members have reacted to the results of the municipal election run-offs earlier today which have ended with a victory for the Georgian Dream party mayoral candidates in 19 of 20 municipalities.
The official results of the Central Election Commission (CEC) for the 2021 municipal election run-offs in Georgia show that the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party mayoral candidates have won in 19 municipalities, while the opposition United National Movement (UNM) contender has won in just one. Incumbent Tbilisi mayor and candidate Kakha Kaladze from the GD took 55.6% of the votes over the UNM’s Nika Melia, with 100% of the votes counted.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia has concluded its recount of votes in 201 constituencies, as part of recent electoral reforms obliging the body to recount a certain number of votes for verification, and stated that it did not affect the preliminary results of the second round of municipal elections.
Ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party MP Mamuka Mdinaradze has responded to a session involving the municipal assembly in the western Georgian town of Senaki on Wednesday, where members from opposition parties gave a go-ahead to the meeting without having a quorum of required members, by calling it “unbelievable”.