Georgia's ruling party, Georgian Dream, on Feb. 18 nominated Defense Minister Irakli Garibashvili to take over as prime minister following the resignation of Giorgi Gakharia earlier in the day. Gakharia, who had been prime minister since September 2019, announced that he was stepping down because of a disagreement within his government over the potential detention of Nika Melia, the head of the leading opposition party United National Movement (UNM).