Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream apologized for Zurabishvili's nomination

Kakha Kaladze, secretary general of the ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party and mayor of Tbilisi, apologized on Friday, December 13, for nominating incumbent President Salome Zurabishvili for the 2018 elections.

"I never talked about it, but now I allow myself to apologize to the population for the fact that it was through the efforts of the Georgian Dream that [Zurabishvili] ended up where [Zurabishvili] is now, who served not Georgia but foreign forces with hatred and bile," Kaladze said live on Facebook (the social network is banned in Russia, owned by Meta Corporation, recognized as extremist in Russia).

This is how the mayor of the Georgian capital reacted to the words of Zurabishvili, who called his decision to hold a Christmas tree lighting ceremony on December 14, the day of the presidential election, in front of the parliament building, where daily rallies are held, a provocation on his part.

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Protests are underway in Georgia over the suspension of European integration talks and the opposition's disagreement with the results of parliamentary elections. Protesters tried to set fire to the Georgian parliament building and damaged dozens of offices, and law enforcement agencies had to use tear gas.

Earlier, on December 3, the Constitutional Court of Georgia did not accept the lawsuit of President Zurabishvili demanding to recognize the violation of the principles of universal and secret voting on October 26 at the parliamentary elections in the country. It was specified that the decision is final and is not subject to appeal or review.

Prior to that, on November 30, Zurabishvili said that she would not give up her powers. In her opinion, the parliament of the new convocation is illegitimate, so her powers will continue after the end of her mandate. In response, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze warned that she would have to leave office by law on December 29.