Zurab Utiashvili, who was elected as the mayor of Gurjaani municipality for a four-year term 20 months ago, on October 2, resigned. In his statement published on Facebook, Utiashvili explains that he is leaving the position of his own volition and is returning to the field of healthcare, where he will continue to work with the Georgian Dream party.
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Until the holding of the extraordinary elections, the duties of the mayor of Gurjaani will be taken over by the deputy mayor Leri Gelenava, who is a trusted person of the majority MP, Davit Songhulashvili.
Georgian News tried to contact Zurab Utiashvili, but he is not answering our calls and messages as of now.
"I want to inform you of my decision, to step down from the mayorship of Gurjaani Municipality. I want to thank my team and the Prime Minister personally, for supporting me in the 2021 local government elections. I also want to thank the population for the support in the elections, which gave me the opportunity to do a lot of good work during this period," wrote Utiashvili on Facebook.
As he states, he is proud that during his term as a mayor, the issue of municipal transportation in Gurjaani was resolved, which, according to him, was one of the main pre-election promises.
"Municipal transportation in Gurjaani has been suspended for decades. At the moment, a state contract competition has been completed, and by the end of the year, 10 new 21-seater Isuzu buses will serve the people of Gurjaani. Also, I would like to point out the "Renewed Regions" project initiated at the initiative of the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Gharibashvili, through which Noneshvili Street in the city of Gurjaani received a modern reworking, which was particularly well-received among all residents of Gurjaani... During my term as mayor, more than 25 children's playgrounds and Training areas were organized. I would also like to introduce you to a new project - the construction of a multifunctional sporting facility in the city of Gurjaani, which will be completed in 2024. "The multifunctional wrestling sports complex includes a grandstand with 150 spectators, where it will be possible to hold sporting tournaments of all levels," wrote Utiashvili.
In Gurjaani municipality, extraordinary elections for the mayor should be held in October. According to the Election Code, if the mayor's term of office is terminated from January 15 to June 15, extraordinary elections are held in October of the same year, and if the mayor's term of office is terminated from June 15 to January 15 - in the nearest April.
In the municipal elections of October 2, 2021, Zurab Utiashvili received 60.5% of the votes, while his competitor from the United National Movement, Sergi Kakalashvili, managed 34.4%.
Before being nominated as a mayoral candidate by Georgian Dream, Zurab Utiashvili was the director of the 'Archangel St. Michael Multi-Profile Clinical Hospital from 2015 to 2021. From 2014-2015, he worked as a senior advisor of the State Security and Crisis Management Council in the Government Chancellery, and from 2001-2014, he held various positions in the Ministry of Labor,
