Moratorium announced during election period
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Tuesday, April 15
The Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure, Davit Narmania, officially stepped down and announced the launch of the election campaign on April 14. The Prime Minister of Georgia has already named his substitute. PM Irakli Gharibashvili also announced the moratorium in relation to the implementation of legal procedures towards the people involved in the campaigns of self-government elections.
Gharibashvili is confident that Narmania will win the elections and successfully tackle the various problems left by former Mayor Gigi Ugulava.
Narmania thanked the cabinet of ministers for its fruitful collaboration, stressing that his achievements on the minister’s post was the merit of the unity within the government.
Elguja Khokrishvili, the former head of the Municipal Development Fund and the Board Chairman of the Caucasus Institute, will replace Narmania on the minister’s post.
“Khokrishvili received a high-quality education abroad and he has scientific and teaching experience. He has remarkable qualifications, a comprehensive education, experience and ability to successfully chair the ministry and continue the path started by Davit Narmania. I hope he will become a productive member of our team, and will be a very successful minister,” Gharibashvili stated.
Gharibashvili stated that the self-government elections should demonstrate that real changes were implemented in Georgia.
“We will do our best to allow all parties to hold complete election campaigns; that is why I would like to announce a moratorium addressing legal authorities to restrain from limiting and arresting persons participating in election campaigns. It should be implemented only in emergency situations. I would like to remark that ensuring political freedom during the elections is the main priority of our government,” Prime Minister said.
Gharibashvili called on the media to provide society with full information about the campaigns. He also addressed international and local observing organizations to get qualified observers involved in monitoring the election process.
“Necessary, timely and right..” this is how Minister of Defense Irakli Alasania assessed the initiative.
Majority members called Narmania as one of the most successful and worthy ministers. Most of the cabinet and majority members do not personally know the new minister. It is only known that the new and former ministers have collaborated with each other for about ten years and that Khokrishvili was one of the individuals who worked with Narmania on the coalition Georgian Dream economic program prior to the parliamentary elections in 2012. The government and parliamentary majority members trust the PM’s words in terms of the new minister.
The parliamentary minority United National Movement members do not know the new minister. However, they evaluated Narmania’s activities as causing a “slow-down in infrastructural development.”
