Political Party Lelo for Georgia established at Exhibition Center Expo-Georgia
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Tuesday, December 24
On December 22, the political party Lelo for Georgia was established. The meeting was held at Exhibition Center Expo-Georgia in Tbilisi. Badri Japaridze, one of the founders of the party, opened the first meeting. As he stressed with the press, the event was attended by 1520 delegates.
Mamuka Khazaradze was approved as the chairman of the party. According to his nomination, Davit Usupashvili will be the chairman of the political party and Badri Japaridze – the party secretary-general. The party was joined by the Building Movement and the New Rights.
“Lelo will be open to all Georgian citizens, everyone who shares the core values and values that have united us in this hall. On the basis of these values, unity will withstand all challenges,” noted Japaridze.
The delegates also elected the political council of the party.
Mamuka Khazaradze said that the country should become a financial center of the region. To achieve this, he outlined initiatives to open stock markets and logistics centers.
As he said, this can be done with the participation of New York, Hong Kong or London exchanges, where stocks of local and international companies are actively trading. He added that it is possible to open such an exchange in the Kutaisi Parliament building that has been left out of function.
Khazaradze said that a strong logistics center should be established around Kutaisi International Airport, where huge companies such as Amazon, Alibaba, FedEx and others will operate. “They will be able to cover a market with a population of more than half a billion within a 3-hour flight radius,” noted Khazaradze.
The chairman of the newly formed party said the economy should be free from state interference and should be based on free-market principles.
According to Khazaradze, their goal will be to attract $ 20 billion in the coming years:
“And that number is real. Our group has been able to attract up to $ 2 billion in investment in the business sector in recent years. I assure you that it is possible to do this nationwide and with the right policies if we think and act at scale,” noted Khazaradze.
Khazaradze says that the two-pole system, which is governed by two morally bankrupt and opposing political forces, should change in Georgia. He was referring to the ruling Georgian Dream and their opponent, the former ruling party, the United National Movement.
Khazaradze presented the public movement Lelo in early September at the Anaklia coast. Lelo, the name selected for the movement, is a reference to the traditional Georgian team game Lelo Burti, which is similar to rugby and also means to score in the game.
