April 24, 2008
Civil Georgia

Four members of the cabinet – the Foreign Minister, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Environment and State Minister for Refugees and Accommodation – have filed resignation as they are ruling party’s MP candidates running in the May 21 parliamentary elections.

According to the Central Election Commission (CEC) all four ministers submitted their resignation letters before the deadline expired on April 23.

As a result, formally Davit Bakradze, who pays visit to the United States, was no longer a foreign minister when meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and addressing the UN Security Council on April 23.

Bakradze, the ex-foreign minister is number one in the list of ruling party’s MP candidates. He replaced Nino Burjanadze, the Parliamentary Chairperson, who decided to withdraw. In case of the National Movement’s victory in the polls, Bakradze will be nominated for the parliamentary speaker’s position, the ruling party officials said.

Koba Subeliani, the ex-state minister for refugees and accommodation, is number two in the ruling party’s list and Zaza Gamtsemlidze, the ex-minister of environment, is the fourth in the list. Petre Tsiskarishvili, the ex-minister of agriculture, is running for the majoritarian MP seat in the Akhmeta single-mandate constituency.