Tiniko Khanjaliashvili became a member of the Telavi Municipality Sakrebulo in the 2021 self-government elections from the party list “Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia” and currently heads the Sakrebulo Committee on Economy and Property Management.

Tiniko first completed the Eastern European Center for Multiparty Democracy’s (EECMD) program Democracy School and then participated in Drive Democracy. According to her, the decision to join “Drive Democracy” was based on the example of other graduates, after she saw that they had studied the challenges at the regional level in depth and were able to offer solutions to local governments.

“I strongly believe that local self-government can and should be the biggest catalyst for positive change in the country because it is happening here, it is happening now and it is happening to us.”

According to Tiniko, self-government is the best platform for initiating and implementing good changes for your community. Consequently, when she received an offer to run in the election, she didn’t think for long:

“For me, democracy is the greatest opportunity for self-realization at the individual and societal level. The Democracy School and Drive Democracy have played a major role in shaping my political views, methods of fighting and my own understanding of freedom of expression.”

“After taking the Drive Democracy course, I realized that I can work more daringly with my teammates on various initiatives, I can use more engagement mechanisms, and I can count on more experts.”

Tiniko emphasizes that the practical skills, knowledge and experience that she gained throughout the program are very important when working in a representative body and she uses them in daily activities. As a member of the Telavi Municipality Council, Tiniko intends to implement the recommendations of the regional development guide created using the  program’s framework and advocate for the issues listed there.

She also highlights several factors based on which she would advise others to participate in Drive Democracy. These are: “Opportunity to listen to competent people; Understand the views that people with different political visions have on the same issues; And build your vision based on the knowledge you gained.”

Drive Democracy has been working to inform and empower voters for three years now. The project helps community groups become more active and lead the process through education, problem-solving, creating guidelines and promoting political dialogue.