Reuters
Published Feb 18, 2021 03:42AM ET
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia announced his resignation on Thursday, a move that prompted celebration from the opposition and calls for early elections.
Gakharia, who had held the post since 2019, said he was stepping down because of a disagreement with his own team over the detention of Nika Melia, a prominent opposition politician, local media outlets reported.
"I've made the decision to leave my post," Gakharia said, according to the Sputnik Georgia news outlet. "Of course, I believe and want to believe that this step will contribute to lowering the level of polarization in our country."
Gakharia said Melia's detention was unacceptable "if it creates a risk to the health and the lives of our citizens or creates the possibility for political escalation," TASS news agency reported.
A court in the capital Tbilisi on Wednesday ordered that Melia, chairman of the United National Movement (UNM) opposition party, be taken into custody for allegedly failing to post bail.
Melia had been accused of inciting violence at street protests in June 2019, a charge he has dismissed as politically motivated.
Following Gakharia's resignation on Thursday, the Interior Ministry announced it was postponing carrying out the order to take Melia into custody. A crowd gathered outside his party's offices and waved Georgian flags in celebration, according to Sputnik Georgia.
Inside UNM headquarters, Melia called for early elections.
"On behalf of all opposition parties, I declare: let's sit at the negotiating table with representatives of this government and start negotiations on new early elections," Melia said.
Georgian Dream, the country's ruling party, won parliamentary elections in October last year, but the opposition said the vote was rigged and marred with violations.
Melia said at the time that his party did not recognise its outcome and called for a re-run.
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.