Georgian Dream Unveils Full List of MP Candidates for October Vote
The ruling Georgian Dream party unveiled its full list of 170 MP candidates for the upcoming October elections, although the Georgian parliament has 150 seats. The party also revealed that an important part of the list was determined alphabetically.
The leader of the parliamentary majority, Mamuka Mdinaradze, clarified to journalists that the ruling party has “objective expectations” of obtaining a constitutional majority, “exceeding 100 mandates by even a few dozen MPs.” They decided to expand the list because “some people leave” before assuming the mandates.
GD’s first 20 frontrunners were presented two weeks ago. Bidzina Ivanishvili, the party’s founder and honorary chairman, has been topping the ticket list for the first time since 2012.
The top 20 candidates are “followed by [30] delegates in alphabetical order,” Mdinaradze said. (Recent controversial amendments to the Electoral Code allow parties to designate their MPs as ‘delegates’ of voters registered in a certain constituency. While this system makes little difference in a fully proportional election, Georgian Dream chose to use it in its campaign.)
The next five on the list (51-55) are exclusively members of People’s Power, the hardline offshoot of Georgian Dream (some other People’s Power MPs are among the top 50 candidates). Next (56-93) come sitting Georgian Dream MPs in the same order as on the party’s 2020 list, followed by ‘fresh faces’ (94-120), while the rest of the list is made up of members of GD’s youth organization.
The full list does not include several familiar GD faces, including Archil Talakvadze, the former Speaker of Parliament who was second on the 2020 list; Levan Kobiashvili, the head of the National Football Federation; Eliso Bolkvadze, a well-known pianist; and Beka Odisharia, who became notorious for his obscene remarks about female opposition MPs.
“There are consultations with Talakvadze on a very serious issue about which I have no right to speak until an agreement is reached,” Mdinaradze said. He said that some GD members are being considered for government, and Talakvadze could be one of them.
Several visible incumbent MPs for GD have dropped out of the top 50. Among them are Nino Tsilosani, Deputy Speaker of Parliament who is currently ranked 61; Irakli Zarkua, known for his vulgar anti-Western statements, is 72nd; Mariam Lashkhi, who famously previously compared the “Global War Party” to Freemasons, is 59the; Aluda Ghudushauri at 70; Givi Mikanadze at 73, Viktor Japaridze at 55.
GD’s list also prominently features the members of its virulently anti-Western and conspirationist spin-off, People’s Power. Their top-rated MP, Sozar Subari, is 11th on the list, and the worst-rated, Victor Japaridze, is 55th.
Today, September 26, is the deadline for parties to submit their lists of parliamentary candidates. On October 26, Georgia will hold its first fully proportional parliamentary elections.
This article was updated on September 27, 16:00 local time, to reflect the Georgian Dream’s logic in determining the order of its party list.
Also Read:
- 26/09/2024 – Strong Georgia Coalition Unveils Part of Electoral List
- 25/09/2024 – Gakharia’s For Georgia Unveils Top MP Candidates for October Vote
- 15/09/2024 – Talk On Air | September 9-15: Ruling Party Goes All In
This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)
