Parliamentary elections in Georgia – FAQ

Almost the entire Georgian opposition, united in the Georgian Dream coalition by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, is opposing Mikheil Saakashvili’s party in the parliamentary elections on October 1. PublicPost was looking into whether the opposition has a chance, whether to expect falsifications and large-scale protests.


Why are parliamentary elections in Georgia interesting?
The elections of 150 deputies to the Georgian parliament from the very beginning became the most fascinating political show in the post-Soviet space. These are the last parliamentary elections before the change of president - Mikheil Saakashvili can no longer run for this post. Billionaire Bidzina (or Boris) Ivanishvili, who appeared in Georgia less than a year ago, was able to unite almost all opposition forces in Georgia into a coalition. He himself, however, does not participate in the elections, but only manages the process. In recent weeks, the situation has become especially aggravated - the favorites of the race, President Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement and Ivanishvili’s Georgian Dream coalition, communicate exclusively in raised voices. Saakashvili accuses the opposition of having connections with thieves in law and of working for Russia; the opposition reminds the president of the film that recorded torture in the Gldani prison. Football fans may also be interested - the list of opposition is headed by Kakha Kaladze, a former player of Dynamo Tbilisi and Kyiv, who played for Milan for 9 years and for two more for Genoa. In addition, whoever wins will be able to nominate their own prime minister. If Saakashvili, then this position will remain with Vano Merabishvili (former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a well-known fighter against corruption in the police), and if Ivanishvili, then he himself will most likely become prime minister.

Who is Bidzina Ivanishvili?
Russian billionaire of Georgian origin,No. 25 on Forbes magazine's 2011 list of the 200 richest businessmen in Russia. A year ago, the fortune of the owner of the Unicor management company was estimated at $5.5 billion. Then he still had three passports - Russian, Georgian, and French, but he was deprived of Georgian citizenship so that Ivanishvili could not participate in the elections. The Georgian parliament considered such a number of nationalities illegal. Then the Georgian parliament made concessions and adopted a law allowing citizens of the European Union to participate in elections, but the businessman said that he did not agree to this. Having declared his political ambitions, Ivanishvili began to get rid of assets in Russia. Last, in early September, he sold the agro-industrial corporation Stoilenskaya Niva for $180 million. Before this, Ivanishvili received $60 million for the Erkafaram company, $982.5 million for development assets, $352 million for the Russian Credit Bank.

Who is in the united opposition?
In the top twenty of the Georgian Dream list, in addition to footballer Kakha Kaladze, are the former Ambassador of Georgia to the UN, leader of the Our Georgia-Free Democrats party Irakli Alasania, lawyer Manana Kobakhidze, chairmen of the Republican, Conservative, People's and Social Democratic parties, the Green Party ", the party "Industry will save Georgia", former Ambassador of Georgia to Holland Maya Panjikidze, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Tedo Japaridze. In favor of Ivanishvili’s coalition, former Prime Minister Nino Burjanadze withdrew from the elections, and the coalition is also supported by political scientist Mamuka Areshidze and former Georgian Minister for Conflict Resolution, head of the League of Voters, Giorgi Khaindrava. Khaindrava has already paid for this - the Georgian prosecutor's office recently released data about his alleged meeting in France with Georgian thieves in law, he has already given explanations to investigators. Kaladze is also accused of such negotiations.

Is the result known in advance?
According to the latest NDI poll , the United National Movement is supported by 37% of the population, and the opposition is supported by only 12%, another 22% have not decided on their opinion. Each side is confident of its victory – Saakashvili’s associates estimate their rating at more than 50%. “The latest research shows that our coalition and the authorities have equal results. If we are given fair conditions, I believe that we will win,” Ivanishvili wrote , in turn, in a letter to The Wall Street Journal.

Should we expect falsifications?
Representatives of the opposition do not expect massive falsification, explaining this, in particular, by the fact that the elections will be closely monitored by international observers. Ivanishvili is confident that no more than 5% of votes can be falsified.

Should we expect a harsh suppression of protests?
The harsh suppression of protests is in the style of Mikheil Saakashvili. Thus, on the night of May 26, 2011, the police violently dispersed an opposition rally organized by Nino Burjanadze in Tbilisi with tear gas, water cannons and batons. Then one person died and dozens were injured. The demonstrators demanded Saakashvili's resignation.

If Saakashvili's party wins by a large margin, the opposition will most likely consider it the result of large-scale fraud. In this case, according to opposition leaders, people will take to the streets. However, in a conversation with the US Ambassador to Georgia Richard Norland, Ivanishvili assured that the opposition had no plans to create unrest: “I gave him a guarantee that I know the citizens of Georgia well, and there will be no chaos with which the authorities are intimidating Americans and Europeans, allegedly we are preparing what - those are horrors."