Jaba Samushia, a former Georgian Dream member of Tbilisi City Council and a long-standing Ivanishvili loyalist has been elected as Rector of Tbilisi State University.
Tapped as a government-backed candidate, Mr Samushia ran unopposed, without competitors.
Previous rector Giorgi Sharvashidze had resigned unexpectedly several months ago, amid speculations he had fallen off with culture Minister and GD hardliner Thea Tsulukiani and that the Government sought to replace him with a more politically loyal individual.
Mr Samushia was already then elected as an acting rector, triggering protest amongst students many of whom say the rector has no legitimacy and that the elections were a “sham.”
Group of students tried to barricade at the Rector’s Office yesterday, but were dispersed by the security.
Mr Samushia had also previously been accused of plagiarism and corruption at the Tbilisi City Council.
Before the Rose Revolution, Mr Samushia was closely linked with Roin Metreveli, a communist party veteran and a long-standing rector of Tbilisi State University under whom corruption flourished on admission exams.
The bribery was only rooted out with the introduction of the national standardized admissions test following the Rose Revolution in 2005.
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