Georgian PM condemns “bullying” of election candidates, calling it “absolutely unacceptable”

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday condemned the “bullying” of candidates on the ruling Georgian Dream party’s electoral list, following the party’s introduction of its top 20 candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections the previous day.  

The head of the Government said the bullying towards the candidates - Olympic champions Lasha Talakhadze and Geno Petriashvili, and also Lika Shartava, the granddaughter of the national hero Zhiuli Shartava - was “absolutely unacceptable”.

Kobakhidze emphasised the acts of such bullying by members of the “radical opposition” showed that for them the success of the country and Georgian sports was not “valuable” at all, and said it did not “befit” the election environment or the Georgian culture.

"It is very important to hold elections in a healthy environment. This means, first of all, that there should be no violence, so-called bullying and pressure. [...] Unfortunately, we see that from time to time there are certain acts that are not conducive to holding elections in a healthy environment [...]. I urge everyone to act in the interests of the country”, the PM highlighted.

He also noted the GD’s top 20 candidates are “quite diverse”, composed of experienced politicians, new faces, honoured sports figures and Olympic champions, as well as representatives of the business sector and different ages, adding, that it was important for the party to offer various figures to the Georgian society, while other political forces “lack resources to renew” their parties with new “faces”.