Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili was unanimously elected chairman of the Georgian Dream Party at a party congress on Saturday night in Tbilisi.
During his speech, Kvirikashvili said he was confident that Georgian Dream will win a “landslide victory” in the legislative elections, which are scheduled for October.
“Georgian politics needs new energy and new vision. Our party meets new agenda offered by today’s realities with renewed team,” Kvirikashvili said.
“Soon you will see lots of many new people in [party] ranks, many professionals who will bring new, completely different and positive dynamic not only into our party but also into the Georgian politics.”
He said Georgia wants good relations with other countries in the region, including Russia, but normalising relations with Moscow.
“But normalization of relations will not happen at the expense of Georgia’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity – that will never be exchanged for anything,” he said.
According to Kvirikashvili, Georgia should become attractive to Abkhaz and Ossetian citizens, so they enjoy the benefits of citizenship, including the prospect of a visa-free regime with Europe.
Kvirikashvili also said he hopes the election campaign will see “healthy competition, instead of confrontation.”
At the end of the congress, former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili told reporters that in a week he will publish “our plans, and what we have done”. He also said he does not know the new members of the party’s political council, and was not involved in their selection.
Source: commonspace.eu with agencies
Photo: Georgian Dream congress (from left to right: Kakha Kaladze, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, Bidzina Ivanishivili, Irakli Garibashvili, photo courtesy www.civil.ge)
