Translated material
Premature elections
The Georgian opposition was invited to the ballot boxes ahead of schedule
Local government elections in Georgia will take place on October 5. Yesterday evening the Central Election Commission completed accepting applications from those wishing to participate in the elections. The Central Election Commission worked in emergency mode despite the day off - Georgia celebrated the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. President Mikheil Saakashvili managed to prevent the opposition from uniting. Labour, the New Right and some other well-known movements are not among the applicants. The party of ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs Salome Zurabishvili “The Way of Georgia” has registered. The formation of election administrations will be completed on August 30, and a single voter list will be ready on September 1.A statement from the State Chancellery says that Saakashvili made the decision to hold the vote on October 5 after consultations with Parliament Chairman Nino Burjanadze, “taking into account the opinions of various opposition parties.” But the opposition claims it was deceived. The upcoming elections will be a rehearsal for the parliamentary elections scheduled for 2008. The most intriguing thing, according to analysts, will be the competition for the posts of mayors of large cities, including the capital. Victory will become a springboard for future successes.
Leading opposition parties held consultations on nominating common candidates or guaranteeing support. A few weeks ago, the head of the presidential administration, Georgiy Arveladze, said that elections would presumably be held in December. After this, many oppositionists went on vacation in order to resume negotiations in the fall.
“The authorities acted insidiously,” MP from the opposition Republican Party Ivlian Khaindrava told Vremya Novostey. - They suddenly turned on the “counter” for us, betting that we would not have time to come to an agreement. This is, to put it mildly, rudeness.” Conservative MP Koba Davitashvili agrees with him, saying: “This is unprecedented fraud, this is immoral on the part of the authorities, I do not rule out a boycott of the elections.” Labor leader Shalva Natelashvili called for a boycott of the elections. The opposition believes that the authorities are afraid of losing the elections. Representatives of the ruling United National Movement invite the opposition not to fuss and to get on with the election campaign.
The upcoming elections have already affected the situation in the media. Journalists from the television company Rustavi 2, as a sign of protest against the dismissal of the general director, twice did not air the news program “Courier”. Music was playing from the screens. As Tbilisi newspapers write, the change in the general director of the influential television company is due to the behind-the-scenes struggle within the ruling party. Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili had a strong position on this television. Now control may pass to another wing of Mikheil Saakashvili’s associates, who fear the growth of the rating of the head of the military department.