Ivanishvili backs participation of former foreign minister of Georgia in presidential elections
TBILISI. Aug 29 (Interfax) - Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili said he will be glad if Georgia's former foreign minister Salome Zurabishvili runs for president, but will not help her with legal issues.
In his open letter posted on Facebook, Ivanishvili promised that unprecedented democracy standards and the current legislation will be observed in the upcoming elections.
"It's extremely important to our country and is a big challenge to our government. Competition is a prerequisite for democratic elections, and therefore we are interested in seeing as many worthy candidates in the presidential race as possible. I am deeply convinced that you are a worthy person and I personally would be happy to see your name in ballots," Ivanishvili said in his response to a letter earlier posted by Zurabishvili on Facebook.
Ivanishvili recalled that he and Zurabishvili fought for the establishment of rule of law and against the dictatorship and authoritarian rule in Georgia together.
On August 26, before arriving in Georgia, Zurabishvili issued an address to the Georgian prime minister and parliament speaker asking them for a meeting in Tbilisi before she filed an application with the Central Elections Commission seeking registration as a presidential candidate.
The presidential elections are scheduled to take place in Georgia on October 27.