Georgia's Parliament Has a New Speaker

Georgia's Parliament has approved the candidacy of Archil Talakvadze from the ruling "Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia" party as the new Speaker of the legislature, reports Sputnik Georgia.

A total of 94 out of 150 members of Parliament voted in favor of the majority leader's appointment.

"I would like to express my gratitude for the support and confidence and tell the public that I will make every effort to ensure a peaceful and pragmatic policy in Parliament. I will do everything possible to ensure that both sides transition to a peaceful and constructive regime... Considering the national interests of our country, together with you, I will make decisions that we need to adopt in the future," said Talakvadze.

He emphasized that serving as the Speaker of the Parliament is a great responsibility for him. Talakvadze became a member of parliament following the 2016 elections. Prior to that, he served as Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs for two years.