Patarkatsishvili Due in Tbilisi this Week
Business tycoon and presidential candidate Badri Patarkatsishvili will arrive in Georgia on December 14 to launch his election campaign, Georgian media sources have reported.
Valery Gelbakhiani, an opposition lawmaker who acts on behalf of Patarkatsishvili, said on December 11 that the tycoon?s election campaign staff planned to meet government officials and foreign diplomats accredited in Tbilisi to secure additional guarantees that Patarkatsishvili would not face arrest upon his arrival. Patarkatsishvili spends most of his time between London and Israel.
The Georgian General Prosecutor?s Office suspects Patarkatsishvili of conspiring to overthrow the government. Mikheil Saakashvili, however, said before he stepped down as President that not a single presidential candidate would face criminal prosecution and anyone was free to run for the presidency.
The law stipulates immunity for presidential candidates.
?He can arrive and run his campaign without having any fear,? Levan Tarkhnishvili, the chairman of the Central Election Commission (CEC), told the Georgian Public Broadcaster on December 11.
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