On 3 September,  President of the ruling Georgian Dream party nominated Giorgi Gakharia, the current Minister of Internal Affairs for the successor of Mamuka Bakhtadze as the Prime Minister of Georgia.

Ivanishvili also spoke about Bakhtadze’s resignation, saying that his resignation took place in a peaceful manner. “On Sunday we held a meeting with the party where he expressed his desire to resign, the whole party thanked him, and now today I can report that we let him go with a thank you. I want to emphasize that the above happened in a very well-mannered way and it would serve us well if this culture carried on not only in our party but throughout Georgia, too. The man came with ideas, led the Government; while discussing his ideas, he always reached agreements with the party – implemented many of them and started processes for the rest. Now that he has deemed, he has said his word, he stepped aside to give development its way,” he said.

He then went on to mention Gakharia, saying that he is a fitting candidate for the spot because of his work for the public good. “This morning we held a political council of the “Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia” Party. At the meeting, being the Chairperson of the party, I presented the candidature of Giorgi Gakharia for the new PM. We received full support. Then we held a meeting with the majority and even there, no one questioned anything – that is the objective evaluation of our choice. You and society know Giorgi Gakharia well. I believe that he deserves this post because of his work for the public good and I think that the Parliament will support his candidature,” concluded Ivanishvili.

Gakharia has already submitted his list of changes to the ministerial cabinet. Vakhtang Gomelauri, the current head of the State Security Service was nominated as Gakharia’s successor at the position of the Minister of Internal Affairs. The current Minister of Defence, Levan Izoria will be replaced by Irakli Gharibashvili, who served as the Internal Affairs Minister in 2012-2013 and as the Prime Minister in 2013-2015. Izoria will become the Head of the National Security Council. All other positions in the ministerial cabinet will stay intact. Gakharia could take up his post by the end of the week, as his positioning as the country’s Prime Minister requires to be approved by the Parliament by at least 76 votes from 150 seats.

Gakharia’s nomination for the spot of the Prime Minister of Georgia caused reactions from the opposition parties and the civil society. The autumn session of the Parliament was opened with the protest of the members of European Georgia Political Party, who started whistling to protest the changes in the cabinet of ministers. They were forced to leave the hall and were joined by the parliamentary members of the “National Movement.” A member of the European Georgia opposition Akaki Bobokhidze expressed hope that with Gakharia, Georgian Dreams rule over the country will end. “Gakharia is a threat to the country. The rule of the Georgian Dream will definitely end in 2020,” he said.

Public activists gathered in front of the Parliament arranging a “corridor of shame” in protest of Gakahria’s nomination. The protesters were marching with the words such as “slaves” and “shame on you.”

Gakharia was one of the central figures in the mass protests in the country on 20-21 June (Caucasus Watch reported). The protesters later demanded his resignation as the minister of internal affairs for legitimizing the use of force against protesters on that day. Sergej Gavrilov, the Russian parliamentarian whose public act in the Georgian parliament sparked the protests and led to Russia’s sanctions towards Georgia also commented on Gakharia’s nomination. “The future Head of the Georgian Government, who will not be dependent on the President of Georgia, will have enough courage to hold negotiations with Russia openly, in order to restore collaboration,” he stated, noting that Gakharia was distinguished with his firm stance during the events taking place in the month of June this year.

Gakharia lived and studied in Russia from 1994 to 2013. He got his bachelor’s degree in political science at the Moscow State University in 1999. In 2004 he obtained his MBA in Management from Moscow State University’s Graduate School of Business Administration. Afterwards, he worked as the Director for Business Development & Government Relations for Europe, Russia & CIS at Lufthansa Service Holding AG. From 2006 to 2009 he gave lectures in applied biotechnology at the Moscow State University. From 2013 to 2016 Gakharia was the Business Ombudsperson of Georgia, handling the disputes of the business community with the state. From 2014 to 2016 he worked as the Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister of Georgia. Between November 2016 to November 2017 Gakharia served as the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development before being appointed as the country’s interior minister.