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Police Regime and Nepotism in Kakheti

June 21, 2010
Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti

The new municipal boards in all eight districts of Kakheti region held first sessions. They all elected the chairpersons, their deputies and district governors. Only one application was submitted to each municipal board for the position of the district governor. Mostly the relatives of the Kakheti region deputy governor Giorgi Sibashvili were appointed to the high positions in the districts. Representatives of the opposition parties have not occupied any high positions in the region.

It was known before elections that Lagodekhi district former governor Gia Gozalishvili was supposed to occupy the position of the municipality board; Dimitri Loladze was candidate for the position of the district governor. The Kakheti News Center spread information about it on March 25, 2010 two months before the elections   http://www.ick.ge/ka/rubrics/main-news/62bnew/728-2010-03-25-08-40.html

According to the Center, former chairman of the municipal board Gia Tsverava was not going to participate in the elections. The ruling party refused him to insert on the election list.

The information, spread two months before the election, was confirmed. At the session of June 18 the recently-elected municipal board of Lagodekhi district elected Gia Gozalishvili for the position of the chairman; Dimitri Loladze became the district governor. Gozalishvili is a god-father of Giorgi Sibashvili’s son. Sibashvili is responsible for the human resources in the region.

It was reported before the elections that Zakaria Iaganashvili would remain on the position of the chairman of the Gurjaani district municipal board after the elections. Zakaria Iaganishvili is also a relative of Giorgi Sibashvili – the latter is the god-father of Iaganashvili’s son. Aleksandre Sirbilashvili occupied the position of the deputy chairperson of Gurjaani municipal board; he occupied the same position in the previous board. The former policeman, employee of the investigative division of the criminal law at Gurjaani district department of the MIA Shota Utiashvili became the district governor. He is a friend of Giorgi Sibashvili. For the parliamentary elections of 2002 Utiashvili was head of the election HQ of Giorgi Sibashvili when he was single mandate candidate from Gurjaani district.

The new municipal board of Telavi district elected Nugzar Khutsaidze as a chairman of the board; he was number one on the election list. Before elections, Khutsaidze was head of the human rights department of the general inspection within the Ministry of Penitentiary, Probation and Legal Aid from March 2009 till April of 2010. Before that, he was deputy head of the Kakheti regional office of the Constitutional Security Department; then he was the head of the regional office and later deputy head of Kakheti regional office of the investigative department of Financial Police. Former Telavi district governor Zurab Butskhrikidze occupied the position of the deputy chairman of the municipal board. In April of 2009 Butskhrikidze was dismissed based on his personal notification because he threatened the opposition members with the dispersal of the demonstration if they had set up tents in front of the administration building in Telavi. The municipal board elected Vasil Davitashvili for the position of Telavi district governor who was the governor in 2009-2010. It must be pointed out that Davitashvili, like all other district governors in Kakheti region, was on holiday before elections and worked for the election HQ of the United National Movement.

The local authority was not changed in Kvareli, Akhmeta and Sagarejo districts. Besik Zandarashvili is still the chairman of the municipal board in Kvareli district; his deputy is Zaza Lomidze who continued working before the elections too; Levan Gamsakhurdia remained on the position of the Kvareli district governor.  

The new municipal board in Akhmeta district elected Aleksandre Mailashvili for the position of the chairman of the municipal board; his deputy will be Jarap Khangoshvili. Mailashvili was the chairperson before the elections of May 30 too; and Khangoshvili was his deputy. Only one member of the board from the Republic Party Zakaria Kinkladze did not take part in the elections. He left the session in protest. “Everything was settled in advance. The positions are already divided,” said Kinkladze. Akhmeta municipal board elected Koba Maisuradze as the district governor; he occupied the same position before elections too. Before Maisuradze was appointed on the position, he interfered in the activities of board members; rebuked and gave insulting notes to the chairman and other members who led the session.

Ilia Chiaureli is still chairperson of Sagarejo district municipal board. Gia Chalatashvili is still district governor; however, he was candidate of the National Movement in Sagarejo district and gained most votes in the elections.

Members of the Dedpolistskaro district municipal board elected former district governor Levan Baghashvili for the position of the chairman; Zaza Pirosmanashvili became his deputy. In the previous board, Pirosmanashvili was the head of social commission. Nikoloz Shanshiashvili is the district governor. Before elections he was the deputy district governor; during the elections he was interim governor.

Sighnaghi district municipal board has new chairman – Zaza Zedelashvili. He was head of the election HQ of the single mandate candidate Nugzar Abulashvili. Earlier he was Sighnaghi district governor. He was resigned from the position by the Kakheti regional governor Giorgi Ghviniashvili because “he could not keep up with the activities of the authority.” Nodar Kochlamazashvili is still district governor.

As a result of the municipal elections of May 30, 2010 the National Movement has complete majority in the municipal boards in Kakheti region. Consequently, representatives of the opposition parties have not occupied any high positions in local authorities.

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