Georgian PM says President directly joins “radical opposition”

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday said the President of the country “must be non-partisan” under the Constitution, adding however, Salome Zourabichvili “directly joined the ranks” of the “radical opposition” and “unfortunately”, she was one of the “puppets” of the domestic opposition. 

Kobakhidze’s comments came after Zourabichvili told French newspaper Le Figaro that GD was “weakened” following public protests against the controversial law on transparency of foreign influence, reintroduced by the party in the spring before its eventual adoption, and claimed the party would fail to receive “more than 25 percent” of voter support in the elections.

“You know this person [Zourabichvili] did not enjoy [people’s] confidence, though she was elected [in 2018] for the sake of the [GD party], and today, in reality, she directly opposed the people who elected her, she appeared in the radical opposition’s camp”, the Prime Minister claimed.

The head of the Government also added that Zourabichvili was elected “out of our respect” and she “betrayed those people who voted for” her.

The PM also commented on debates ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 26 by saying he was “ready” to take part in them.

“The main space for debates is the Parliament - as for TV debates, I am ready, although the opposition avoids debates because they have nothing to say in front of the public”, he claimed.

The Government head also responded to Zourabichvili this week saying she was “ready to take responsibility”, including for a second presidential term, by noting the constitution did not allow the President to be involved in election campaigning.