GPB First Channel hosted debate between Tbilisi mayoral candidates
- “Language, Homeland, Faith” – Temur Bokelavadze (ballot number 1);
Temur Bokelavadze, candidate for Tbilisi Mayor from the party “Language, Homeland, Faith”, declared during the political debate that he will always stand for justice and beside the Georgian nation.
“Greetings and victory to everyone who cares for the Georgian cause, my dear Tbilisi and Tbilisians, my Georgia. I am Teimuraz Bokeladze, from the party ‘Homeland, Language, Faith’, electoral number one. We continue the worthy path of Guram Sharadze, which each of us must comprehend.
Today, the party is led by Zaur Khachidze, and with his support, I am presented as a candidate for Mayor of Tbilisi. I promise you, you will see me everywhere, standing firmly on the side of justice and in support of our nation. I am the person, each and every one of you will remember, who succeeded, by the grace of God and with public involvement, in introducing religious and military lessons into schools. Today, religious education is taught in 50 schools. Therefore, struggle, faith, and labour will inevitably yield results. Let us fight for a better future for our country. I swear that I shall always stand on the side of truth and at the watchtower of my nation’s dignity,” declared Bokelavadze.
- “Conservatives for Georgia” – Zurab Makharadze (ballot number 3);
Zurab Makharadze, Tbilisi mayoral candidate for “Conservatives for Georgia”, stated during the political debate that mass migration and demographic issues are the main challenges of Georgia.
“In our firm belief, this is the principal problem in Georgia: mass migration and extreme demographic problems. For decades now, every year, more people die in Georgia than are born; more Georgian citizens leave for abroad than return, and simultaneously, there are now up to 300,000 foreigners in the country, whose settlement here our government is actively facilitating. Our vision is this: we must manage to change this situation; we must ensure that Georgians remain here, otherwise both the United National Movement and the Georgian Dream supporters will become irrelevant,” declared Makharadze.
Kakha Kukava, Tbilisi mayoral candidate for “Free Georgia”, stated during the political debate between Tbilisi mayoral candidates on GPB First Channel that, today, citizens have been deceived by Georgian Dream.
“I want to address all Tbilisians with whom we spent a great deal of time at protest rallies on November 7 and May 26. In 2012, you people supported Bidzina Ivanishvili and Georgian Dream, and today you are all deceived. Today, no one remembers you, and currently, everyone within the Georgian Dream is essentially an updated version of the United National Movement. Neither Prime Minister Kobakhidze, nor Parliament Speaker Papuashvili, nor any of them were ever seen by us at protest rallies. Today, criminal proceedings have been initiated against Garibashvili, and in return, Girgvliani’s judge, Murusidze, manages the justice system.
To all those people who feel deceived, I urge you: you cannot repay the authorities better than by coming to the elections and marking number 7, Free Georgia. You’ll see how suddenly Georgian Dream and Bidzina Ivanishvili will remember you, how they’ll pay attention to you, how they’ll remove Murusidze, and how they’ll begin talking about their own mistakes. Therefore, I urge everyone: number 7 is the medicine for the authorities’ sclerosis,” noted Kakha Kukava.
Otar Chitanava, Tbilisi mayoral candidate for the “Alliance of Patriots”, stated during the political debate between Tbilisi mayoral candidates on GPB First Channel:
“This week we saw yet again what an impossible dream it became for our pensioners to have their pensions increased, even by 100 lari or 200 lari. What we see are the miserable sums they’ve added from the new year: 20 lari has been added, and 45 lari. Whilst they’ve increased the salaries of state apparatus employees by 10 per cent, including members of parliament. I don’t know; unfortunately, this government’s audacity seems to have no limits and no sense of moderation. Our party’s general secretary was a member of parliament who transferred his entire salary over four years to the homeless and others,” declared Chitanava.
Irakli Kupradze, joint Tbilisi mayoral candidate for “Lelo-Strong Georgia” and “Gakharia for Georgia” parties, stated during the political debate between Tbilisi mayoral candidates on GPB First Channel that poverty, corruption, and injustice reign under Georgian Dream conditions.
“During the several-month campaign, I walked through every district of Tbilisi and once again saw, for the umpteenth time, total poverty caused by corruption, including in Tbilisi City Hall and state agencies; poverty that is destroying our future today; gambling dens that are poisoning our future generation; tens of thousands of dilapidated houses in which over one hundred thousand of our citizens live, who go to sleep daily under the fear of death. Total poverty amongst pensioners and the elderly. The vast majority of street vendors are elderly people and pensioners. The injustice that happens in the street: they beat our citizens, just recently, we gained a new political prisoner, Gela Khasaia, who is accused under a fabricated case of some unimaginable nonsense. Political prisoners, poverty, corruption, and injustice reign around us under Georgian Dream conditions,” noted Irakli Kupradze.
Giorgi Liluashvili, Tbilisi mayoral candidate from the “Georgia” party, during the political debate between Tbilisi mayoral candidates on GPB First Channel, requested that the debate participants observe a minute of silence in honour of the deceased.
“I don’t betray tradition, and I want to dedicate my minute to the memory of one of the prominent representatives of the National Movement, President of the Association for the Protection of Human Rights of the Whole Georgia, Giorgi Kervalishvili-Kavkasieli, who was killed at the April 9 memorial. Also to the 17,000 Covid victims who are wrapped in ‘cellophane’, and to the memory of people killed by regimes formed as a result of coups,” declared Liluashvili.
Giorgi Gachechiladze, Tbilisi mayoral candidate for the “Greens Party”, stated during the political debate between Tbilisi mayoral candidates on GPB First Channel that Georgia’s “Greens Party” laid the foundation for Georgia’s environmental legislation.
“I am Giorgi Gachechiladze, representative of the well-known party, ‘Georgia’s Greens Party’, which is now trying somehow to save Tbilisi from the hell that reigns here. I should remind you that Georgia’s ‘Greens Party’ is a founder of the ‘European Green Party’, and at the same time, we are members of its governing council. We have excellent opportunities, including financial ones, to bring money from the West to help solve your problems.
I want to tell you that we are the party that laid the foundation for all environmental legislation in Georgia. It is significant that, through my authorship, an article has been incorporated into the Constitution, explicitly stating that every individual has the right to live in Georgia in an environment that is safe and harmless to their health. Support us so we can save Tbilisi,” declared Gachechiladze.
Iago Khvichia, Tbilisi mayoral candidate for the party “Girchi”, stated during the political debate between Tbilisi mayoral candidates on GPB First Channel that everything is being done to prevent poor people from driving a car.
“I’ll give you one simple example of what I don’t like about the city today, what’s developing incorrectly, and what I consider the solution. Today, the city is not developing in the direction of building metros, bridges, or motorways to relieve traffic congestion, but rather, everything is being blamed on Georgia’s population. Everything has been done to prevent poor people from owning or driving cars.
Added to what I’ve listed are parking problems, which we’ll probably discuss today. However, the entire direction the City Hall is focused on today is: come on, let’s move people, the poor, from driving cars onto eighteen-metre buses, and let those who have money or influence use the so-called “special services lanes.” We want to change this, and those of you who want this, support us, mark number 36,” declared Khvichia.
Kakha Kaladze, Tbilisi mayoral candidate for the party “Georgian Dream”, stated during the political debate between Tbilisi mayoral candidates on GPB First Channel that he maintains daily communication with Tbilisi’s population regarding ongoing projects and upcoming plans.
“I want to greet Tbilisi and Tbilisians with particular love and respect. I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude to the people of the capital for their daily support and solidarity. Our strength lies in the fact that, to this day, we have maintained our connection with the people of Tbilisi; we communicate daily, discussing future plans and projects to be realised. Also, we don’t find it difficult to face problems and challenges. I can tell you directly that the only political force that can truly give a worthy answer to all challenges and respond to the problems that are current in the city is Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia,” declared Kaladze.
Debate format
Regarding the debate format, it consisted of six rounds.
The first round involved opening statements from each participant, with one minute allocated per speaker. A ballot number determines the order of speakers, and in each subsequent round, the order is advanced to the next speaker in sequence.
The second and third rounds involved questions from the host to the participants, with two minutes allocated for responses.
The fourth round was dedicated to questions between opponents. Participants will have the opportunity to pose one question, with the author of the question selecting the addressee. Thirty seconds are allocated for posing the question, whilst two minutes are allocated for the response. Following the question and answer, both the questioner and respondent will have 30 seconds each for a rejoinder or clarification of the question, and correspondingly, for a response to this rejoinder.
The fifth round entailed a concluding question from the host to the participants, with two minutes allocated for responses.
In the sixth round, participants addressed the electorate directly. One minute will be allocated for this purpose.
The debate was provided with sign language interpretation. It was also broadcast on Georgian Radio and on GPB First Channel’s online platforms. The pre-election debates were conducted in accordance with all international standards and the values upheld by the Public Broadcaster.
The debate between Tbilisi mayoral candidates was moderated by Giorgi Gvimradze.