About Civil.ge
Eng | Geo | Rus
Last updated: 10:55 - 1 May.'18
RSS
Mobile
Twitter
Facebook
Republican Party Elects New Chairperson
Civil Georgia, Tbilisi / 4 Nov.'13 / 14:43

Republican Party, one of six political parties united in the ruling Georgian Dream coalition, elected on November 3 Khatuna Samnidze as its new chairperson replacing parliament speaker Davit Usupashvili, who led the party since 2005 and who said last year that he had no intention to seek re-election as party leader after becoming chairman of the parliament.

New chairperson of the Republican Party, Khatuna Samnidze, 35, was a member of a local legislative body in Adjara Autonomous Republic in 2004-2008 and is a member of the Republican Party since 2005. She worked as programme coordinator for gender and conflict at the South Caucasus regional office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation since 2010 before becoming Republican Party’s organizational secretary this year.

Former chairman of the party, Davit Usupashvili, remains a member of party’s 35-seat main governing body.

Leaders of other parties from GD coalition, including PM Ivanishvili, were also present at the congress of the Republican Party on November 3. In his address, PM Ivanishvili praised Republicans as “the most consistent, wise and very stable party”, which “contributed highly to democratic transformation that we managed in recent years”. “This is exemplary party for me,” Ivanishvili said.

In his address, parliament speaker Davit Usupashvili said that despite of “natural difficulties” associated with working within coalition, uniting diverse political parties, the Republican Party “will remain reliable partner” in the Georgian Dream coalition.

“Before there is even one party in the coalition, the Republican Party will be there too,” Usupashvili said. 

He also said that that the Republican Party “has never been a super popular party – we know that and we know that it will remain so.”

“Sometimes we hear allegations against us that we are ‘not as much Georgians as we should be’, that we ‘don’t love Georgia as much as we should’. But when asking opponent what specifically they do not like, they fail to specify,” Usupashvili said.

He also said that one of the reasons of opponents’ criticism is being “soft” in respect of UNM opposition party and the previous authorities.

“How we treat defeated determines who we are,” Usupashvili said. “Every person is innocent until proven guilty no matter how angry we might be about this person… Today it remains one of the frontlines and a test for Republicans. We are censured for being soft towards defeated and it represents one of the accusations voiced against us. But we should continue exactly the same way… we should continue this same policy and respect rights of each and every person and let the independent judiciary, not our opinion, find out who is a criminal. This is so important for our country that we should [tolerate] criticism which is voiced today against [the Republican Party].”

He said that Ivanishvili’s one-sentence statement in October, 2011 announcing intention to enter politics “shocked” everyone. “Today we have a result brought by that one phrase and we the Republicans thank you very much for that. As a parliament chairman, I also thank you,” Usupashvili told Ivanishvili.

He, however, then added: “But I have one personal status in capacity of which I am not thanking you – in my capacity of a Georgian citizen, because the Georgian citizens have nothing to thank each other for when we serve our homeland, when we do what we can for the country.”

Latest News
01 May.'18 10:55
We Have Moved to a New Platform
Direct Your Bookmarks to https://civil.ge.
29 Apr.'18 03:54
Ruling Party Candidate Wins MP By-Elections
Givi Chichinadze will represent Vani and Khoni single-mandate constituency in the Parliament of Georgia.
28 Apr.'18 09:40
Polls Open for Vani and Khoni MP By-Elections
48,123 voters are eligible to cast their ballots in Vani and Khoni single-mandate constituency.
27 Apr.'18 17:23
State Dept’s Europe Affairs Point Man to Visit Tbilisi
Wess Mitchell will meet senior government officials and address the NATO-Georgia Public Diplomacy Forum.
27 Apr.'18 13:45
In Quotes: Georgian Politicians on Ex-PM Bidzina Ivanishvili’s Comeback
Bidzina Ivanishvili will be approved as the Georgian Dream party chairman at the upcoming convention.
26 Apr.'18 18:15
SG Jens Stoltenberg: Georgia NATO’s ‘Very Close’ Partner
The NATO Secretary General says Foreign Ministers meeting tomorrow will recognize the country’s progress.
26 Apr.'18 14:24
Ex-PM Ivanishvili to Chair Georgian Dream Party
Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said Ivanishvili was ‘best equipped’ to add new dynamism to the party.
26 Apr.'18 11:12
Lawmaker Proposes Criminal Liability for ‘Insult of Religious Feelings’
The parliamentary human rights committee decided to set up a working group for scrutinizing the draft law.
25 Apr.'18 17:21
New Abkhaz Government Head Appointed
Gennady Gagulia has served as the Abkhaz “prime minister” twice - in 1995-1997, and 2002-2003.
25 Apr.'18 14:43
Watchdog Improves Georgia’s Press Freedom Ranking
None of the countries of the former Soviet Union (except the Baltics) are ranked ahead of Georgia.

About Civil Georgia
Civil.Ge © 2001-2024, Daily News Online
Registered office: 2 Dolidze Str, 4-th Floor.
19