Irakli Kobakhidze – newly elected leader of Georgian Dream party

The new party leader was appointed on January 16 following the congress of the ruling Georgian Dream party, where the candidacy of Kobakhidze was supported unanimously. Following the appointment, Kobakhidze thanked the previous leader of the party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, for defeating “a regime based on violence and lies”, and for “restoring the democratic order” in 2012. In his speech, Kobakhidze also said that the Georgian Dream is “a progressive governmental Parliamentary team with eight years of experience, and it is ready to continue its work with a new attitude”. Similarly, the speaker of the new Parliament, Archil Talakvadze has also addressed Ivanishvili, and referred to him as the “guarantor of freedom, peace, and stability”, and said that the supporters of the party are waiting to see “the next steps forward”.

Bidzina Ivanishvili, the former leader of the Georgian Dream party since 2018, released an open letter on January 11, in which he announced his decision to leave the post of the party leader, and abandon politics altogether. In his letter, Ivanishvili stated that “he accomplished [his mission]” and is now handing over the reins of the party to the team he has assembled throughout his leadership.

While the Georgian Dream party was deliberating the candidacy for the party leadership, some opposition activists took it to the streets to protest the results of the October 2020 Parliamentary Elections. Nine activists with the “Stolen Elections” banner were arrested on the charges of hooliganism and disobedience to the authorities, however, all the detained persons were released shortly after the party congress was over.

This is not the first time when Kobakhidze becomes the center of public unrest. In August of 2019, he was caught up in the midst of the protests, when a Russian communist MP, Sergei Gavrilov, took Speaker's, Kobakhidze’s seat in the Parliament at the Interparliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy, where the incident occurred. The fact was soon followed by large demonstrations, where the riot gear was used against the protestors and approximately 300 people were injured.

On top of the appointment of Irakli Kobakhidze as a party leader, the Georgian Dream party congress has also appointed the members of the political council. Mayor of Tbilisi Kakha Kaladze will continue to serve as a party’s general secretary, and Vasil Maglaperidze, former director of the Public Broadcaster, will continue to act as Kaladze’s deputy. Upon his appointment, Kobakhidze promised that he will do everything in his power to turn Georgia into a truly European country.