Georgian Public Broadcaster’s (GPB) board of trustees has shortlisted five out of 14 candidates, who have applied for the director general’s vacant post at GPB. According to the board’s January 3 decision, the following candidates entered the second round of competition:

• Tinatin Berdzenishvili - GPB’s media and communications director, who serves as the company’s acting director;
• Natia Kuprashvili - chairperson of the Association of Regional Broadcasters;
• Vasil Maglaperidze, former lawmaker and governor of Mtskheta-Mtianeti region in 2005-2008, who most recently worked for GDS TV, owned by former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili’s family;
• Zaal Anjaparidze, senior program manager at the Europe Foundation;
• Nino Zautashvili, GPB’s long-time journalist, who has been hosting a talk show on Channel 1 since 2013.

The candidates were selected through secret ballot and they will now be interviewed by the board members on January 4-5. The board of trustees will convene a meeting to select the finalist on January 6.

The post of GPB’s head became vacant on November 21, after Giorgi Baratashvili filed for resignation two years before the expiration of his term in office.

The competition for the director general’s vacant post was announced by GPB’s board of trustees on November 28. The deadline for receiving applications expired on December 28. Initially, 15 candidates filed their applications. But the number was reduced to 14; one of the candidates Bachuki Bakhtadze was disqualified for submitting incomplete documents. Nine candidates dropped out of the race as a result of the January 3 ballot.