Georgia’s Free Democrats to Run as Independent Party
TBILISI – Georgia’s opposition Free Democrats party will participate in the country’s upcoming elections in October as an independent, non-aligned faction, senior party official Viktor Dolidze said Friday.
“We plan to take part in the upcoming parliamentary elections as an independent party. Naturally, we’ll cooperate with any of the other political parties interested in working towards the country’s development and against narrow self interests,’ Dolidze said.
Led by former Defense Minister Irakli Alasania, the Free Democrats were once a member of the ruling Georgian Dream coalition, founded by billionaire oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili.
The Free Democrats are outspoken supporters of liberal reforms and deeper ties with Euro-Atlantic institutions, including the EU and NATO. While a member of the Georgian Dream, the party was considered the movement’s sole pro-Western faction.
Alasania withdrew the party from the coalition after then-Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili sacked Alasania in late 2014 for sharply criticizing the arrest of several defense ministry employees.
Dozens of foreign observers, as well as Alasania, slammed the arrests saying Garibashvili’s decision was politically motivated, aimed at purging the defense ministry of Free Democrat party members in order to curry favor with dominant pro-Russian elements within the Georgia Dream that are seen as close to Ivanishvili.
Since quitting the coalition, the Free Democrats have become the main opposition party in the country’s parliament.
One of the party’s most prominent figures, former European Integration Minister Alex Petriashvili, was shot and seriously wounded on 25 February by unknown assailants.