Zurab Abashidze to the City Council opposition: My door will always be open to you - I am the chairman for everyone - I want to believe we will continue working in a constructive mode
"I want to believe—and I do believe—that we will continue working in a constructive mode," said Zurab Abashidze, the newly elected Chairman of the Tbilisi City Council, addressing opposition representatives at today's session.
He explained that it is regrettable that in recent years, the opposition operated in boycott mode and was practically absent from the City Council.
"I want to welcome the representatives of our opposition and wish them success in the work of the City Council. I want to believe—and I do believe—that we will continue working in a constructive mode. We are ready and open to the idea that working with you will be very important in terms of sharing your expressed opinions, positions, and views, and engaging in discussion. My door will always be open to you. I, as Chairman of the City Council, am the chairman for everyone. Unfortunately, the previous experience was not like this—not on our part, but on the opposition's, which practically spent the last few years in boycott mode, and we hardly saw them here. The result is clear: we are represented by 45 members in the City Council, while the opposition has only 5 members today," Abashidze said.
He thanked the people of Tbilisi and the City Council members for their support and stated that over the next four years, he will do everything to fulfill the promises made.
"I want to thank the people of Tbilisi—the individuals who believed in us and still believe in our political force today. They came to the October 4 elections and expressed their trust in each of us, entrusting us with this great responsibility. Being a member of the capital's City Council is a huge responsibility, and it is a double responsibility to become the Chairman of the City Council. I want to thank each of you for this trust. I must express great gratitude to the leadership of our political team and the Mayor of the capital for the trust shown. I want us, together over the next four years, to carry out very fruitful and productive work—because we have made many promises to our citizens," Abashidze said.
