Ugulava's candidacy for Poti Mayor sparks disputes among Georgian opposition

Nika Meliya, the chairman of the "United National Movement" (UNM), has named Gigi Ugulava, a former Tbilisi Mayor, to be the only oppositional candidate for the post of Mayor of the city of Poti instead of Tina Bokuchava. The "European Georgia" Party has pointed to the absence of approval of Ugulava's candidacy; and the wife of the party chairman has criticized the former Mayor.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the UNM, "European Georgia", "Droa" (It's High Time) and "Girchi-More Freedom" Parties had decided not to compete with each other at the October 2 elections. Each of the above parties has chosen the regions of Georgia, in which it has nominated its own candidates – as single candidates from the parties.

Gigi Ugulava, a former Tbilisi Mayor, was nominated as the united oppositional candidate at the election of Poti Mayor to be held on August 21. This decision was announced on August 19 by Nika Meliya, the UNM chairman.

Meanwhile earlier, Tina Bokuchava, a UNM member, had been considered to be the only oppositional candidate for the Poti Mayor. The "European Georgia" has ambiguously assessed the Meliya's statement. The "European Georgia" Party will support any candidate who is agreed upon. There was no agreement with the UNM on a candidate in Poti, the "Sputnik Georgia" has quoted Lasha Dameniya, a party activist, as saying on August 19.

After Gigi Ugulava was introduced by Meliya as a candidate for the post of Poti Mayor, Tamar Chergoleishvili, the wife of Gigi Bokeriya, the chairman of the "European Georgia", has sharply criticized Ugulava. "I regret that this person (Ugulava) reflects everything that makes an ordinary person treat the politics an unprincipled and dirty business," Ms Chergoleishvili wrote in her Facebook page on August 19.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 21, 2021 at 12:20 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.