Gakharia resigns, international partners react to ongoing events
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Friday, February 19
Giorgi Gakharia announced his decision to resign as Georgian Prime Minister yesterday. Gakaria cited differences of opinion within the Georgian Dream team over Nika Melia’s arrest warrant.
As the former PM said, the arrest of the chairman of the United National Movement would be a dangerous political move and it would end up escalating the already unstable and polarized political situation.
The Former Prime Minister of the country has also criticized Nika Melia for not disregarding the law and once again said that he is responsible for encouraging protests on June 20, 2019.
On Sunday, the Tbilisi City Court made a decision to arrest Melia for the violation of the conditions of the bail. This has led to mass protests in the country, and the international partners of Georgia reacted harshly.
The opposition of the country is demanding snap elections and welcomes the PM's decision to resign. Melia himself noted that he appreciated the decision of the former Prime Minister and said that there is an urgent need for the government to start thinking about snap elections.
Melia noted that Gakharia's decision essentially means that he is admitting that the government of the country is ready for 'bloodshed and violence'. According to Melia and many other representatives of the opposition, the only way to overcome the crisis in the country is to hold snap elections.
The members of the Georgian Dream have reacted to Gakharia's decision. The Chairman of the party Irakli Kobakhidze said that the arguments of the former PM were simply not good enough and called on Melia to obey the law and said that he would still be detained.
The international partners of the country have already reacted to the ongoing events, calling Gakharia's decision to resign 'the right move'. The British agency has also commented on the ongoing events saying that the crisis is not in the best interest of any party and that the people of the country 'deserve better’.
The Parliament has to choose a new Prime Minister and cabinet in two weeks, if they fail to do so, in four weeks, the President will be able to break up the parliament and call for snap elections.
