Runoff Election Scheduled for Georgian Bar Association Chairperson

Irakli Chomakhashvili and Irakli Kandashvili

A second round will be held to elect the Chairperson of the Georgian Bar Association, in which Irakli Chomakhashvili and Irakli Qandashvili will participate.

Six candidates contested the election for the association's chairperson: Nikoloz Kvantrishvili, Giorgi Mariamidze, Mukhrani Ghurtskaia, Irakli Kandashvili, Irakli Chomakhashvili, and Manuchar Chumburidze.

A total of 2,751 lawyers took part in the initial round on December 14. Irakli Chomakhashvili gained 1,109 votes, while Irakli Kandashvili received 1,283. To win in the first round, a candidate needs more than 50% of the votes, which equals 1,376.

The second round of elections will take place within the next 14 days. The winner will be the candidate who receives the most votes.

“At a time when significant discredit and false information were spread about me, I would like to thank all the lawyers and my colleagues who supported me and participated in the elections,” said Irakli Chomakhashvili, who is also the lawyer for the demonstrators arrested during the pro-European rallies. For this reason, the government propaganda media refers to him as a “supporter of the radical opposition.”

Irakli Kandashvili, considered a candidate supported by the Georgian Dream, spoke about attempts to politicise the Georgian Bar Association. “On one side, there is the profession and professional interest, on the other side - a specific political interest. This is unacceptable,” Kandashvili promises lawyers that if he is elected chairperson, “no one will dare to politicise the Bar Association as an institution.”

For the past 8 years, David Asatiani has been the Chairperson of the Georgian Bar Association.

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