Prepared by Messenger Staff
Georgian Dream Unveils Mayoral Candidates in 63 Municipalities
Ruling party Georgian Dream has named its mayoral candidates for 63 municipalities ahead of the local elections. The announcement was made by party chairman and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who said most nominees are current or acting mayors, with several newcomers joining the race.
Kobakhidze told reporters the party aims to win both mayoral and city council contests in all 64 municipalities nationwide. "Local self-government enjoys exceptionally high trust in society. Our task is to further strengthen this trust," he said, praising the work of municipal leaders over the past four years.
Key nominees include Nino Latsabidze in Rustavi, Davit Eremeishvili in Kutaisi, Aleksandre Sarishvili in Lanchkhuti, and Giorgi Tsintsadze in Batumi. Tbilisi's mayoral candidate was presented earlier in the campaign.
The party is fielding mainly incumbents in regions such as Kakheti, Kvemo Kartli, Imereti, and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, while introducing new contenders in several municipalities, including former MPs, civil servants, and professionals from fields such as law, business, and architecture.
Kobakhidze said internal polling shows the party is on track for a clean sweep. "This is an absolutely realistic goal, and our election headquarters will be maximally mobilized to achieve it," he said.
Kobakhidze: 2008 War Started by Saakashvili's 'Externally Imposed Regime,'Not Georgia
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said the 2008 Russia-Georgia war was triggered by then-president Mikheil Saakashvili's government, not by the Georgian state, describing that administration as "treacherous" and "externally imposed."
Speaking at the Shindisi Heroes Memorial, Kobakhidze compared the claim that Georgia started the war to blaming the country for the killings of Sandro Girgvliani or Buta Robakidze. "The war in 2008 was started not by Georgia, but by Saakashvili's treacherous, externally imposed regime," he said. "No betrayal by Saakashvili and the National Movement can justify the occupation carried out by the Russian Federation."
Kobakhidze cited documents including a Council of Europe resolution, the Tagliavini report, and a decree signed by Saakashvili as proof the former government initiated hostilities. He claimed United National Movement figures avoided disputing this until 2018, when President Salome Zourabichvili publicly stated that the then-government started the war.
He added that Georgian Dream members at the time found it politically difficult to defend Zourabichvili's remarks due to internal divisions. "We explained to Salome Zourabichvili then that telling the truth at that moment was not appropriate, because we had agents in the team and would have been forced into a defensive position," Kobakhidze said.
