On Sunday the 8th of September, the parliament in Georgia appointed Giorgi Gakharia as the country’s new Prime Minister.
This comes after Mamuka Bakhtadze announced his resignation, stating that he had fulfilled his mandate.
Gakharia’s nomination sparked criticism and public outrage due to a controversial crackdown of protesters in June.
What Did Gakharia Do?
In June, the invitation of a Russian delegation to the Georgian parliament was met with criticism that spurred into violent protests. Russian lawmaker, Sergei Gavrilov, addressed a parliamentary session in his native Russian language while sitting on the parliamentary speaker’s seat, a move which the opposition deemed outrageous, given Georgia and Russia’s history.
Russian influence is a sensitive issue in Georgia following a war in 2008 which saw Georgia lose control of two of its regions.
Gakharia, who was the Interior Minister at the time, was accused of the violent crackdown on protesters, leading to calls for his resignation.
Stooge?
Gakharia was ushered in through votes from the ruling Georgian Party, with 98 votes in favour and none against as opposition party members abstained from voting.
While Gakharia breezed through the vote, the concerned plenary session was held against a backdrop of protests. An opposition organisation brought in a flock of live sheep to the parliament building, stating that the sheep represent the MPs and their inability to stand up to their party leader, Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Anna Charkhalashvili, a member of the Shame Movement, told Radio Liberty: “The sheep [are] a symbol of obedience. We even called them names – Mdinaradze, Talakvadze, Chugoshvili and others. This is the face of today’s parliament.”
Opposition lawmakers also aimed comments at Ivanishvili, threatening to unseat the party in the parliamentary elections scheduled to hold next year.
Nika Melia, an opposition leader in the United National Movement party, reportedly told the AFP news agency: “Gakharia will be Ivanishvili’s last stooge in a prime minister’s seat… Ivanishvili’s oligarchic rule is incompatible with democracy and all of Georgia’s democratic and pro-Western parties will be united forces to defeat him in the parliamentary elections next year.”
