Elene Khoshtaria, leader of Droa political movement, announced on August 12, some 7 weeks before October 2 local elections, about transformation of the movement into a political party and presented her teammates.
Members of the new party, among others, include Nino Goguade, ex_MP and former member of Free Democrats party; Batu Kutelia, former Deputy Defense Minister and Georgian Ambassador to the United States under the UNM administration, as well as Davit Sikharulidze, former Defense Minister and Georgian Ambassador to the U.S under the previous government.
Speaking at the 15-minute-long presentation, held without supporters due to worsened pandemic situation, Elene Khoshtaria said the Droa is “a unity of free, principled people united around an idea” rather than a single individual, also noting that the changes that “are vital for our country will also be free, principled, clean implemented by competent people who are committed to this idea.”
“People gathered here [in the party] value the independence of our country; an individual, his/her freedom, dignity, rights and security; our country’s democratic and legal development; our country’s full integration into European and Euro-Atlantic space,” Nino Goguadze said.
Goguadze accused the Georgian Dream party of pursuing Russian interests, noting that everyone who supports the country’s European future and idea of freedom should declare a war against the ruling party. “We should put an end to the hatred and illegality through which the Georgian Dream government rules the country,” she added.
Elene Khoshtaria, who established Droa political movement after quitting the opposition European Georgia party in December soon after parliamentary elections, will run for the Tbilisi City Council (Sakrebulo) chairpersonship as a joint candidate of the United National Movement, European Georgia, Droa and right-libertarian Girchi-More Freedom parties.
Elene Khoshtaria became an MP through European Georgia’s proportional list in the October 31 parliamentary elections but joined the opposition’s boycott and rejected her mandate. She also ran in the Vake single-mandate constituency in October elections, garnering 35.55% of votes in the first round, but like other opposition candidates, refused to participate in the second round.
Khoshtaria ran for Tbilisi Mayorship in 2017, finishing the fourth with 7.11% of votes (28,411).
Earlier, in 2007-2012, she served as the First Deputy State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.
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