A new political party β βthe Citizensβ β led by Alexander (Aleko) Elisashvili, a former independent member of Tbilisi Sakrebulo, held its presentation on August 4 and unveiled plans to run for October parliamentary polls.
In his remarks, party leader Alexander Elisashvili, who scored second unexpectedly in Tbilisi Mayoral race in 2017, vowed to bring βfresh airβ into Georgian politics. He hailed βreturning dignified life to Georgiansβ as the chief goal of the newly-set up party.
Addressing the crowd in a courtyard of 6 Alexandre Kazbegi Avenue, where he grew up, Elisashvili briefly spoke of the need for decent jobs, sufficient income, and quality education. He said it takes βtrue, honest and professional peopleβ with βclean pastβ in politics to achieve those goals.
There will be no tender-winning businessmen, singers or sportsmen here in our team, nor party switchers, he remarked.
Elisashvili confirmed to run as a majoritarian for Tbilisiβs Saburtalo single-mandate constituency and appealed his voters to βrepeatβ the success of 2014 when he won Saburtalo majoritarian seat in Tbilisi City Council (Sakrebulo).
Other leaders of the party, Levan Ioseliani (who ran in 2019 by-elections for Mtatsminda district), Tsira Elisashvili (professor at the Georgian Institute for Public Affairs (GIPA) and co-founder of preservationist Tiflis Hamkari NGO), Ivane Norakidze (lawyer, head of Elisashviliβs campaign headquarters in 2017), Ioseb Kenchadze, a young lawyer, as well as Genri Dolidze, Batumi-based poet also addressed the public.
They have, among others, focused on Alexander Elisashviliβs track-record of βone manβs battle against the systemβ and stressed that the party will fight βelite corruptionβ persisting in the country.
Alexander (Aleko) Elisashvili, who chaired the presidential pardon commission from November 2013 to April 2014, previously served as a journalist for various TV channels and radio stations.
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