As the head of the Tbilisi organization and Tbilisi headquarters of “Strong Georgia,” I have decided to cease cooperation with Mikheil Kakauridze and expel him from our ranks, – this was written by Saba Buadze, one of the leaders of “Lelo – Strong Georgia,” on social media.

His statement followed Kakauridze’s attendance at the session in which Zurab Abashidze was elected the new chairperson of the Tbilisi City Council.

According to Buadze, Kakauridze broke the boycott and helped “Georgian Dream” create a quorum.

“Today, at the Tbilisi City Council session, due to the absence of a quorum, ‘Georgian Dream’ was unable to open the session, where the new chairperson of the council and the new candidate for deputy mayor were to be elected and confirmed.

As the public knows, ‘Strong Georgia’ and the entire opposition in the Tbilisi City Council have been in a political boycott since the theft of the October 26, 2024, elections and have not participated in council sessions. The decision to boycott was made by the political council of ‘Strong Georgia’ in November 2024.

Unfortunately, despite the common opposition boycott and clear calls, Mikheil Kakauridze, who joined us in 2024 and represents the Gldani headquarters of ‘Strong Georgia’ and is a council member, broke this boycott and helped ‘Georgian Dream’ create a quorum. As the head of the Tbilisi organization and Tbilisi headquarters of ‘Strong Georgia,’ I have decided to cease cooperation with Mikheil Kakauridze and expel him from our ranks,” Buadze wrote.

Zurab Abashidze was appointed chairperson of the Tbilisi City Council. The vote took place at today’s City Council session, with 26 council members supporting Zurab Abashidze.

The chairperson’s position became vacant after Giorgi Tkemaladze took up the post of Tbilisi Deputy Mayor.