Gachechiladze Runs for Majoritarian MP

MP Levan Gachechiladze, who leads the nine-party opposition bloc‘s list of MP candidates, will also run for majoritarian MP seat in the Tbilisi’s Samgori single-mandate constituency, the bloc said on April 10.

Samgori seems to be one of the most hotly-contested constituencies in Tbilisi with already four candidates running there. Gachechiladze’s rivals are the ruling party nominee Rusudan Kervalishvili, co-founder of construction firm Center Point; Kakha Dzagania of the Labor Party and Guliko Zumbadze of the Republican Party.

Selecting Samgori district for Levan Gachechiladze, who is a majoritarian MP in the sitting parliament elected from the Tbilisi’s Vake constituency, was a surprise. Gachechiladze, who ran for presidency in the January 5 early election, although lost to Saakashvili nationwide, won most of the votes in Tbilisi. But the Samgori district, along with Krtsanisi, was the only constituency in the capital city in which Mikheil Saakashvili garnered more votes then Gachechiladze, about 37% and about 32%, respectively.

A majoritarian MP candidate winning more than others and more than only 30% of the vote would be declared the outright winner in the first round without the need for a runoff. Under this rule ruling party majoritarian MP candidates are be better positioned if they have to compete with several candidates from various opposition parties or blocs, because the overall opposition vote would be split.

Deadline for nominating majoritarian MP candidates in each of the constituency expires on April 21.