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Ex-Georgian President's Wife To Run For Parliament


Sandra Roelofs (right) with former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili (file photo)
Sandra Roelofs (right) with former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili (file photo)

Sandra Roelofs, wife of former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, will run for a single-mandate parliamentary seat from the Zugdidi municipality in the western region of the Samegrelo region.

Roelofs, 47 and a native of the Netherlands, told supporters in the village of Kortskheli in the Zugdidi municipality on August 19 that she will run as a candidate in the October 8 elections for the opposition United National Movement party, which used to be chaired by her husband.

Saakashvili, who is currently the governor of Ukraine's Odesa region, introduced reforms during nearly a decade in power in Georgia following the 2003 Rose Revolution.

He left Georgia after his presidency ended in November 2013.

Georgian authorities launched four probes against Saakashvili, accusing him of abuse of office and financial malfeasance.

In December, Georgian authorities stripped Saakashvili of his Georgian citizenship after he accepted a Ukrainian passport.

Based on reporting by Interfax and Civil.ge

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