(Read full article on civil.ge)

The Parliament of Georgia elected today Georgian Dream lawmaker Shalva Papuashvili, 45, as its new speaker with 88 votes in favor and one against.

The development comes as the ruling party tapped on December 24 Papuashvili to replace Kakha Kuchava, who has resigned from the post and decided to quit the Parliament.

Papuashvili, in his relatively brief address to Parliament before the vote, vowed to “stand guard over parliamentary sovereignty,” pledged to work with the opposition, and promised that the legislature will keep busy for the next three years with reforms to fortify Georgia’s 2024 EU membership application bid.

As a member of the Georgian Dream, Papuashvili said, he was tasked to execute “the will of the majority of the Georgian people.” But he vowed he would also serve as “a guarantor of the involvement and participation of the opposition elected by the people” in legislative decision-making.