Resignations of municipality mayors create suspicions
According to media reports, in March and April 2020, mayors in several municipalities of Georgia - Kaspi, Terjola, Kutaisi and Oni resigned from their positions after submitting resignation requests.
On March 11, 2020, Kaspi Municipality Sakrebulo considered termination of the mayor’s powers. At the meeting of Sakrebulo, opposition party representatives expressed suspicions about possible pressure against former mayor Manuchar Merebashvili. According to them, Merebashvili had a confrontation with Governor Giorgi Khojevanishvili. Even though opposition party representatives demanded attendance of former Mayor Merebashvili to hear his opinions, he did not appear at the meeting. In his comments to media, the former mayor said that he wanted to continue career in private sector.
On April 1, 2020, Terjola Municipality Mayor Bondo Sopromadze applied to Sakrebulo with a request for resignation. By then the mayor had already dismissed first deputy mayor Manuchar Panchulidze. According to Sakrebulo Chairperson Nino Janelidze, no additional explanations were provided to Sakrebulo about resignation of the mayor. The chairperson of Sakrebulo faction European Georgia, Tariel Panchulidze believes that the decision may be motivated by the confrontation between the former mayor and a member of the Georgian Parliament from the Georgian Dream, Elguja Gotsiridze. Following termination of powers of Terjola Mayor by Sakrebulo, State Representative Zviad Shalamberidze nominated first deputy mayor of Terjola Municipality, Lasha Gogiashvili as an acting mayor.
On April 5, 2020, Oni Municipality Mayor Emzar Sabanadze and First Deputy Mayor Dimitri Sakvarelidze resigned. Reports about his resignations create suspicions that the resignations were preceded by a confrontation between the former mayor and a majoritarian MP from the Georgian Dream, Gocha Enukidze, as well as Governor Archil Japaridze.
On April 8, 2020, Kutaisi Municipality Mayor Giorgi Chigvaria submitted a resignation letter. According to media reports, former Mayor of Kutaisi Giorgi Chigvaria was pressured by the ruling party and the State Security Service.
The wave of mayoral resignations in different municipalities within a short period of time creates suspicions that the resignations of elected officials may be the result of an unhealthy process. Reports about party confrontations and possible pressure may be indicative of the fact that the mayors did not resign willingly but rather, as a result of instructions of the central authorities or the party. Notably, in the past, during the 2018 elections and in the following months, several municipality mayors resigned for ambiguous reasons, which created similar suspicions.
Such cases clearly illustrate absence of a meaningful decentralization and significantly undermine the role of self-government as an independent elected level of local governance. Resignation of elected officials for ambiguous reasons reinforces an impression that self-government bodies are ruled by the central authorities and the ruling party vertical, while directly elected mayors view party leaders and central authority representatives as the source of their legitimacy, instead of local constituents.
ISFED urges former mayors of the municipalities listed above to explain the reasons behind their resignation publicly and clearly. The organization urges the ruling party, the Georgian Dream to eliminate the unhealthy practice of possible pressure and persecution of elected political officials of local self-governments and if there are any signs of offence in actions of mayors, to ensure fulfillment of procedures provided in the legislation.