UNWTO Acting Chair Pololikashvili claims Georgian Gov't opposed his candidacy over staff dispute

Zurab Pololikashvili, the acting Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), has accused Georgia's ruling party, Georgian Dream, of withdrawing his candidacy over a staffing dispute. 

Speaking for domestic media on Friday, Pololikashvili alleged that his refusal to dismiss an assistant, a former diplomat who quit her post in protest following the GD Government's decision late last year to halt the country's EU integration until 2028, had led to the withdrawal of his candidacy.

Pololikashvili claimed that the GD authorities had demanded that he terminate the contract of Tea Maisuradze, the former Georgian Ambassador to the Czech Republic, who had been assisting him on a temporary basis. He claimed that the ruling party expressed strong disapproval of Maisuradze’s role, which ultimately led to her departure.

“There is one person, Tea Maisuradze, who was the ambassador to the Czech Republic. I decided to hire her on a contract for several months to help me in the campaign process," Pololikashvili explained. "Georgian Dream made a very categorical instruction to immediately remove Tea from the position. I explained to them that I could not remove this person in one day.”

Pololikashvili further noted that the pressure escalated, leading Maisuradze to resign voluntarily. He described the situation as a “hysteria” created by Georgian Dream representatives over her role.

In addition to the staffing controversy, Pololikashvili dismissed as false the claims by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and other Georgian Dream representatives that his withdrawal was a “coordinated decision made in the country's best interests.”

He also rejected Kobakhidze's claims that his election to a third term as UNWTO Secretary-General was undemocratic, calling it a “lie.”