Reformers Plan to Take Over CUG

(Tbilisi. December 7. Civil Georgia) – Citizens’ Union of Georgia (CUG) member and ex-Parliamentary Chairman Zurab Zhvania stated on December 7, that all the members of the party who are against the main principles of the CUG should leave the party.

The issue will be the central on the CUG meeting on December 22. Reformers’ team tries to be dominant in the party.

General Secretary of the CUG Eduard Surmanidze stated earlier that persons like Irakli Gogava who is the party member and at the same time is in another Parliamentary faction, should be sacked. Irakli Gogava is chairman of the pro-Presidential New Alliance for Georgia faction.

CUG virtually disintegrated after the President Eduard Shevardnadze’s resignation from the post of Chairman of ruling party in September. Since then it remained unclear whether or not the “reformer” wing of the Citizens Union will split to create the new political entity. Zurab Zhvania’s announcement today may indicate that the reformers will try to take over the old name and party structure rather than form the new entity.