Georgian Dream presidential candidate named
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Monday, May 13
The presidential candidate for the coalition Georgian Dream has been revealed to the public. The current Minister of Education is the nominee of the coalition. The Georgian Dream claims that they were unanimous regarding Margvelashvili.
Margvelashvili, 43, who was a rector of a Tbilisi-based Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA) from 2000-2006 and then again from 2010-2012 before becoming an education minister in PM Ivanishvili’s cabinet.
Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili stressed that “Margvelashvili is a very creative and is unique in crisis situations, experienced in management and in politics too; he is a good analyst, good expert and also a good team-player,” Ivansihvili stated.
In response, Margvelashvili thanked the coalition for its trust and underscored that addressing the people and the country's development will be the major goals for him.
Members of the coalition Georgian Dream are sure that Margvelashvili is the “most appropriate” candidate for the position.
“Margvelashvili’s victory will be obvious as he is very popular and has significant rating within the coalition,” Georgian Dream MP, Davit Berdzenishvili stated. Fellow MP of the coalition, Eka Beselia, emphasized that the Georgian Dream was “unanimous” concerning Margvelashvili’s candidacy due to his deep-thinking, him being principled and his appropriateness towards the changed constitution model.
Member of the parliamentary minority Davit Bakradze claims that Margvelashvili is a “personnel candidate” of the prime minister. Bakradze stated that the future president will have a serious role in regulating conflicts and the country's advancement.
UNM MP, Giorgi Vashadze, said that Margvelashvili is just a temporal candidate who will be replaced very soon.
“I think that Ivanishvili is observing how the situation will develop and then name himself as a presidential candidate,” Vashadze said, adding that Margvelashvili is an educated person. However, he does not fit the presidential post.
Political analyst Soso Tsiskarishvili positively described the personality and skills of the Georgian Dream candidate. According to him, Ivanishvili has “more than enough reasons to name Margvelashvili to the position.”
However, Tsiskarishvili stated that naming the presidential candidate in May was a bit early, especially when Margvelashvili has just launched his actions as a minister of education.
Analyst Mamuka Areshidze thinks that the election period might be hard for Margvelashvili, who has no political experience. “However, I think that he will get used to the process,” Areshidze said.
Head of the Elections and Political Research Centre, Kakha Kakhishvili, thinks that Margvelashvili was chosen a long ago. “He is not a member of any party. Currently, we have a candidate who is directly linked with the Prime minister. I hope, that he will act as the president of all of Georgia and not as a president of the person who named him,” Kakhishvili said.
UNM will decide its presidential candidate through a primary. According to the UNM, the primary will be held at the end of the month and 5 members of the UNM will take part in it. Supposedly, Giorgi Baramidze, Vano Merabishvili and Davit Bakradze will be among the candidates.
