Political Rivalry Turns Physical at Kutaisi City Assembly

Members of the Kutaisi city assembly, the ‘Sakrebulo,’ from opposing political parties Georgian Dream and National Movement escalated political tensions into a physical altercation at Kutaisi City Hall on Wednesday.

InterPressNews reports that members of the ruling party, Georgian Dream, instigated the fight. Amiran Kopaleishvili and Imeda Saghinadze attacked opposition lawmakers Gia Ukleba and Giga Shushania. The altercation began just before a session of the Sakrebulo and lasted only a few minutes. Rustavi 2 reports that the fight began in the Sakrebulo’s parlor and spilled out into the corridor. There was no security on site to break up the fight.

Allegedly, it began with an argument over information posted online. The details have not yet been verified. InterPressNews claims it started with an embarrassing error on the Sakrebulo’s website, while Rustavi 2 is reporting that Ukleba said “It was an attempt by Georgian Dream to silence me, concerning my Facebook status and activity at the Sakrebulo sessions,” relating to criticisms of Georgian-backed presidential candidate Salome Zurabishvili.

Ukleba continued with a message to his opponents, “You have not scared us with this, we will not walk away.”

By Samantha Guthrie

Photo: Kutaisi Sakrebulo