Independent Tbilisi Mayoral Candidate Mulls Political Party

Independent Tbilisi mayoral candidate, Aleko Elisashvili, who came in second in the October 21 Tbilisi mayoral elections, said at a press conference on Tuesday that he is considering establishing his own political party.

“Of course, I am thinking about my political future… I am thinking about setting up a party together with my teammates – decent, qualified and professional people, but it is a little too early to talk about it now,” Elisashvili said, adding that before establishing the political party, he would continue his “struggle” for the city through the NGO Tiflis Hamkari. 

“I intend to fight for this city and increase the number of supporters to further charge and motivate the people, who are in love with this city,” Elisashvili said.

Elisashvili also explained that he did not plan to cooperate with other political parties, including the ruling Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia.

“I do not plan to take any position in the Georgian Dream, they have not offered and they should not bother offering me any. If I wanted to take a post in the Georgian Dream, I would have already done that,” Elisashvili said.

He also touched upon the election results, noting that the subsequent four-year rule by the Georgian Dream in Tbilisi would be “a huge problem for this city.”

According to the preliminary results released by the Central Election Commission, Aleko Elisashvili garnered 17.48% of votes. He was the first to congratulate the ruling party’s Tbilisi mayoral candidate, Kakha Kaladze, who garnered 51.09% of votes.

Before running in the October 21 municipal elections, Elisashvili was an independent member of the Tbilisi Sakrebulo. Earlier he led the preservationist NGO Tiflis Hamkari.