Bidzina Ivanishvili Leads Ruling Party in Upcoming Georgian Election

Georgia's ruling party has selected billionaire and former prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili as its leading candidate for the parliamentary election on Oct. 26. Ivanishvili's influence has been pivotal in the country's recent political landscape, including a contentious law on foreign agents that sparked significant protests and concerns from Western nations.

Georgia's ruling party on Tuesday selected Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire and ex-prime minister widely considered the country's most influential figure, as its lead candidate for the parliamentary election on Oct. 26, according to Georgian media. Ivanishvili, who served as prime minister from 2012 to 2013, has held the title of honorary chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party since December.

Current Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, a close ally of Ivanishvili, was named the party's number two candidate, as reported by Georgian media. Ivanishvili has been a central figure in an extended political crisis surrounding a 'foreign agents' law enacted by his government earlier this year. This move has provoked some of the largest protests in Georgia since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

The United States and other Western countries have expressed concerns over the law, which mandates that organizations receiving over 20% of their funding from abroad register as 'agents of foreign influence.' In a rare public speech in April, Ivanishvili defended the law, asserting that it was essential for protecting Georgian sovereignty from a 'global war party' attempting to involve Georgia in a confrontation with Russia. Critics from both domestic and international fronts have accused Ivanishvili and his allies of exhibiting authoritarian tendencies and distancing Georgia from its traditional Western partners. Nevertheless, polls indicate that Georgian Dream remains the nation's most popular party ahead of the October election.

(With inputs from agencies.)