8 candidates applied for the contest for Adjara TV and Radio director
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Friday, August 16
Submitting applications for director of Adjara TV and Radio have been completed. The competition was announced on July 12 and, as Adjara Television reported 8 candidates applied for the position.
Irakli Kikvadze, Piruz Bolkvadze, Shota Zoidze, Tina Tsiskaradze, Irma Zoidze, Merab Tsulukidze, Giorgi Kokhreidze, Shota Gurabanidze are candidates for the position of director.
This is the third attempt to elect Adjara TV director. The contest had twice been canceled before, as none of the candidates received the required number of 3 votes. The last competition was held in July.
Adjara Public Broadcaster's Television and Radio Advisory Board has failed to elect a regional broadcaster as a result of the competitions. During the first contest, where 8 candidates participated in the voting on May 31, the votes were distributed as follows: Merab Tsulukidze received two votes, Bacho Gurabanidze, Irma Zoidze, and Natia Zoidze received one vote each.
Eleven candidates took part in the re-run on July 10, with the votes split between the three candidates after the first ballot. Tina Tsiskaradze received two votes, Merab Tsulukidze, and Bacho Gurabanidze. Repeated voting was held between Tsulukidze and Tsiskaradze, but according to the results, Merab Tsulukidze won two votes, and Tina Tsiskaradze won two. One of the members of the board did not vote for any of the candidates; he wrote the name of Natia Kapanadze, former director of Adjara TV.
Four members of the Advisory Board voted on April 19 to cast a no-confidence motion against the former director of television and radio Natia Kapanadze and dismissed her from the post.
According to board members, this was a television decision, supported by four members.
Two of the five members of the Adjara TV and Radio Advisory Board of the Georgian Public Broadcaster have been elected by the National Movement quota, one by the Georgian Dream, one each by the Republican Party and the Free Democrats.
Her impeachment was not supported by one of the members of the board, Bezhan Gobadze, elected by the National Movement's quota. Kapanadze herself called the case unfair and appealed this decision to the Batumi city court. She requested the competition for the position of the director to suspend, but the court didn’t confirm the mediation.
Reasons for dismissal are cited as a decline in TV ratings, failure to meet priorities, and lack of communication with the board.
Kapanadze was elected Director of Adjara TV in October 2016. She had more than six months left before her term expired.
The acting Director of Adjara TV and Radio is Natia Zoidze.
