Former High-Ranking Officials Take Part in the Polls as Single Mandate Candidate

Gulo Kokhodze, Akhatsikhe

The United Opposition represented their single mandate candidate in Akhaltsikhe District; he is Ivane Baliashvili, local resident and he is familiar to local voters. “Nobody needs me now,” said Ivane Baliahsvili and he speaks out about the reasons that led to his political discrimination.

In 2005 Ivane Baliashvili organized struggle for to abolish communal electricity meters when he was chairperson of the Akhatsikhe Municipality Board.

“We brought a suit before the Akhaltsikhe Disctrict Court, together with 3,600 others and were successful. Though the chairperson of the court was fired (and he now works as a private attorney). Our appeal was satisfied at Regional and Supreme Courts too that was followed by the release of Davit Ebralidze, a person who protected the rights of customers of the electricity distribution company. Evidently, the government did not like the idea because somebody had protected the energy-distribution company,” said Ivane Baliashvili.

Ivane Baliashvili stated that his wife, Zoia Baliashvili, former director of the Akhaltsikhe Public School # 1 was forced to resign from the occupied position for the same reasons. “She successfully passed the first round of exams. The commission was satisfied by the interview with her as well. She had received two letters of gratitude from Kakha Lomaia, the former minister of Education. She was decorated by an award of Iakob Gogebashvili. My wife was director of the Georgian School in Ninotsminda (a district which is mostly inhabited by ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijani minorities), and such a person was unacceptable to them.”

The single mandate candidate of the United Opposition was unemployed even before now.

The “Radical-Democratic National Party of Georgia” promoted Nikoloz Inasaridze as its single mandate candidate in the Akhatsikhe District.

“I cannot stand injustice and illegality. However, we encounter injustice everywhere,” said Nikoloz Inasaridze.

Now, he joined the opposition because being forced to resign illegality. “The Georgian Parliament has been turned into a Notary Office. They are changing the articles of the Constitution when and how the ruling party decides.”

“I want to participate in the development of my country. What was this parliament? Is it a legislative body that is set up of people whose work record cards are opened after they enter the Parliament? Should such a record be opened after a person becomes an MP? What can inexperienced person do in the parliament? I want to use my knowledge and education in the legislative body.”

The candidate commented about other single mandate candidates in the district. “The candidates from the National Movement would have refused to take part in the polls if they had not been forced by the government. Or there will be people with plenty of money will come into the parliament in order to protect their illegal property and earn even more then when they would be part of the government.”

Ivane Baliashvili and Nokoloz Inasaridze have not yet started their pre-election campaign in the villages. They have not used the air of the local TV Company either. However, only one week is before the parliamentary elections.