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Billionaire Ivanishvili does not have Georgian citizenship

Georgia Materials 11 October 2011 15:48 (UTC +04:00)
Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, voicing his political ambitions, is not a Georgian citizen, the Georgian National Civil Registry Agency said today.
Billionaire Ivanishvili does not have Georgian citizenship

Georgia, Tbilisi, Oct. 11 / Trend, N. Kirtskhalia /

Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, voicing his political ambitions, is not a Georgian citizen, the Georgian National Civil Registry Agency said today.

Ivanishvili said that he became a Georgian citizen on July 22, 2004, but later a French citizen. "According to the Georgian law, a citizen automatically loses the Georgian citizenship in case of the citizenship of another country," a statement said.

This fact will complicate Ivanishvili's political career in Georgia, as a foreign citizen can not be elected in Georgia. According to the Georgian laws, there is a five-year residency requirement for persons wishing to be elected to the Georgian parliament.

Former foreign minister, French citizen Salome Zurabishvili failed to be elected to the Parliament.

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