Edisher Toloraia
Edisher Toloraia | |
|---|---|
| ედიშერ თოლორაია | |
| Member of the Parliament of Georgia | |
| Assumed office 2016 (10th convocation), 2024 (11th convocation) | |
| Constituency | Zugdidi (Majoritarian) |
| Assumed office 28 November 2023 | |
| Deputy Chair of the Faction “Georgian Dream” | |
| Assumed office 28 November 2023 | |
| Deputy Chair of the Regional Policy and Self-Government Committee | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 22 August 1978 Zugdidi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Party | Georgian Dream—Democratic Georgia |
| Alma mater | Zugdidi Independent University |
| Profession | Politician |
Edisher Toloraia (Georgian: ედიშერ თოლორაია; born 22 August 1978) is a Georgian politician serving as a member of the Parliament of Georgia for the ruling Georgian Dream—Democratic Georgia party. He represents the Zugdidi majoritarian district.[1]
Early life and career
Edisher Toloraia was born on 22 August 1978 in Zugdidi. He studied law at Zugdidi Independent University.[2] He began his career in local government within the Zugdidi City Council (Gamgeoba), where he held various positions from 2002 to 2006.[3] He later served as the acting head of the Retirement Subsidies Agency's Zugdidi division in 2007 and as a chief specialist in the Samegrelo - Zemo Svaneti Regional Administration from 2011 to 2012.[2]
Toloraia was first elected to the Parliament of Georgia in the 2016 election as the majoritarian MP for the Zugdidi district (#66).[3] He was re-elected in the 2024 parliamentary election, where his Georgian Dream party secured a fourth consecutive term in an election that international observers and the domestic opposition criticized for alleged irregularities.[4] He was elected Deputy Chair of the Regional Policy and Self-Government Committee on 18 May 2022. On 28 November 2023, he was elected as one of the Deputy Chairs of the parliamentary faction The Georgian Dream.[3][5][6]
Following the 2024 election, he was confirmed as the parliamentary delegate for the Zugdidi district in December 2025.
Controversy
In 2023, Transparency International Georgia reported that he had failed to declare three pieces of real estate—an apartment, a parking lot, and a plot of land—along with multiple family businesses in his annual asset declaration, as legally required for public officials.[7] Earlier in his career, allegations surfaced regarding pressure on public sector employees. In 2012, following the Georgian Dream party's rise to power, Toloraia, then serving as Governor of Zugdidi, was accused of reneging on a public promise. Watchdog groups reported that he held meetings where he asked municipal department heads and employees to write resignation letters, a move critics said pressured over 1,200 public employees to leave their jobs.[8]
References
- ↑ "Edisher Toloraia - Parliament of Georgia". parliament.ge. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
- 1 2 "Zugdidi Mayoral and district governor candidates' background and property ownership". საერთაშორისო გამჭვირვალობა - საქართველო. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Edisher Toloraia | My Parliament". archive.chemiparlamenti.ge. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
- ↑ "2024 Elections Parliament of Georgia". East Watch. 26 October 2024. Archived from the original on 3 July 2025. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
- ↑ "Parliament Adopts Russian Law in Third Reading with 84 Votes | List of Supporters". sakartvelosambebi.ge. 14 May 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
- ↑ "The "Georgian Dream" faction was created in the parliament - the faction will be represented by 80 members, and it will be headed by Mamuka Mdinaradze". www.interpressnews.ge. 25 November 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
- ↑ "MP Edisher Toloraia failed to disclose 3 real estate properties and family businesses". საერთაშორისო გამჭვირვალობა - საქართველო. Retrieved 17 January 2026.
- ↑ DFW-admin (24 January 2013). "A thousand public employees may have been forced to leave". DFWatch. Retrieved 17 January 2026.