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GEORGIA-POLITICS
Georgian PM announces resignation
TBILISI, Sept 2, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze
announced his resignation on Monday, sparking speculation about his successor
in the country recently rocked by anti-government protests accusing the
authorities of ties to Russia.
“I took the decision to resign from my post as I think that at this stage
I’ve accomplished my mission,” Bakhtadze wrote on Facebook.
Bakhtadze, who has been in office since June 2018, also thanked Bidzina
Ivanishvili, the billionaire head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, widely
believed to be calling the shots in Georgia, for his “support and
confidence.”
Georgy Volsky, a lawmaker in Georgia Dream, told Russia’s Interfax news
agency that the party was holding talks on its candidate for premier and
would make an announcement on Tuesday.
“So far we can’t talk with 100-percent certainty about future changes in
the makeup of the government,” Volsky said.
Georgian media reported that the powerful interior minister Giorgi Gakharia
could become the next prime minister.
In late June thousands rallied in Tbilisi in demonstrations sparked when a
Russian MP gave a speech in the Georgian parliament, a hugely provocative
move for two countries whose ties remain strained after a brief war in 2008.
The rallies evolved into a broader movement against Ivanishvili amid
widespread anger at his party’s failure to kick-start a stagnant economy.
Moscow reacted to what it called “Russophobic” protests by suspending
direct flights between the countries.
Bakhtadze’s predecessor as prime minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, had
stepped down after two-and-a-half years in power amid mass protests that
exposed a dramatic drop in his government’s popularity.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1717 hrs