meria - city hall

Tbilisi city hall. (Interpressnews.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–President Saakashvili’s National Movement party has lost its majority in Tbilisi City Council.

Members of Georgian Dream coalition, and former members of the National Movement who switched sides after the parliamentary election in 2012, have dismissed the deputy head of Tbilisi City Council Mamuka Akhvlediani and the heads of 13 commission, who are members of the UNM.

Zaal Samadashvili, head of the city council and UNM member, remains in the same position, but he will be dismissed at the next session of the council, on July 26. Until then, consultations will be held to select new heads of the 13 commissions.

Members of the Georgian Dream coalition have periodically replaced members of the UNM in local governments all over country. Even though local elections will not be held until 2014, people did not want to have UNM members governing their cities and towns, and there have been many rallies and protests since the October 2012 election, in which UNM lost and GD won, forming a new national government.

Gradually, Saakashvili’s party has lost delegates also around the country in town and city councils.