Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili submitted his resignation on Monday (January 29), claiming he wanted to give a new candidate time to prepare for parliamentary elections scheduled for October.
Garibashvili stated that he had been offered to lead the ruling Georgian Dream party, a decision to be discussed at the party’s congress on Thursday. Local media reported that Irakli Kobakhidze, the current party leader, would succeed Garibashvili as prime minister.
Opinion polls show Georgian Dream is the country’s most popular party but has lost support since 2020, when it won a slim majority in parliament.
Georgia gained long-awaited candidate status for the European Union in December, even though relations with the West were strained over accusations of deepening relations with Russia. Under the leadership of the outgoing Garibashvili, the country refused to impose sanctions against Moscow and restored direct air links with Russia for the first time since 2019.
Georgian Dream, founded by Georgia’s richest man, Bidzina Ivanishvili, claims to advocate membership of the European Union and NATO, which are hugely popular in Georgia.
