Garibashvili leaves his post

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has announced his decision to leave the post.

"I am leaving this post today, but I remain a faithful soldier of our country,'' Georgia Online cites his address to the nation, which was shown by a number of Georgian TV channels.

"The post of Prime Minister has never been an end in itself for me. I am always ready to serve the country and its people, it is part of my political culture. We have a young democracy, the main thing is the example after us for our children," the Prime Minister said.

"I leave the office, but I remain a soldier of my homeland,'' he stressed.

Garibashvili also thanked his colleagues in the coalition, members of the government and their families.

The politician did not mention the reason for such a decision.

Recall, that earlier Vestnik Kavkaza reported it became known today about the possible resignation of the Georgian Prime Minister in order to head the campaign headquarters of the Georgian Dream party and its electoral list of the coalition.

Now, he and all the ministers will perform the duties until a new cabinet is formed.

Over the next seven days, after consultations with the parliamentary majority, the country's president must name the candidate for the post of Prime Minister.

The head of the Center for Safety Studies and International Relations, Nika Chitadze, noted in an interview with a VK correspondent "this should have been expected, as Garibashvili addressed Georgian society two days ago with a report on the activities of the government and tried to show what has been done under his leadership." "After that he probably intended to resign," the expert said. 

"This may be tied with political factors, primarily the fall in the Georgian Dream's rating. Garibashvili could not be sure that he would take the post of Prime Minister after the parliamentary elections. This may also be due to the possibility of Bidzina Ivanishvili's return to politics. If he decides to do so, then he won't be able to take the presidency as the head of state.

A member of the Expert Club of Georgia, Vakhtang Maisaya, has another viewpoint. "I think that he left the post in order to become the head of Georgian Dream. This is his driving force, which he intends to use in order to enter parliament. The technical government about to come to power. It won't take any political decisions. The country will be controlled manually by parties and coalitions. So here it is actually clear. I think that the Georgian Dream coalition has come close, or even already started its campaign. And all its attention is focused on the parliamentary elections," he said.

According to Maisaya, the most probable candidate for the post of the head of the technical government is Giorgi Kvirikashvili. However, he will take this position only until October, before the parliamentary elections.