Vuktoria Panfilova, NG’s observer. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
It is still not clear when the presidential elections will take place in Georgia. The 31st of October, the date chosen by the head of the state, is opposed by a part of society and local non-governmental organizations. The point is that the last day of October is Thursday, and activists demand to return the initial date of October 27th, Sunday, or to declare the 31st of October a public holiday so all voters could come to the ballot stations. However, in this case, the participation of Georgian citizens living abroad remains doubtful. However, whenever the presidential elections take place – on a weekend or a working day – they are not as important for Georgia as all previous elections in recent years.
According to the constitution, right after the elections, power will shift to the prime minister, while the president will lose most of his executive functions. At the same time, nobody can say today what will be presidential elections after the 31st of October. Initially it was required that no important decisions would be made by the president. Nevertheless, Premier Bidzina Ivanishvili has recently stated that the president’s power could be greater than representative capacity.
Most probably, these words are not empty. Ivanishvili stated that when Mikhail Saakashvili left the political stage, he would consider his mission completed and would probably leave powerful structures as well. After his resignation, the prime minister plans to found a strong public organization which would be able to influence and even control the authorities. So, Ivanishvili wants to influence several institutes sharing power, than to deal with one of them; especially if his candidate, the minister of education Georgy Margvelashvili, wins the presidential elections. The premier calls him his close friend. Due to such a president and his administration, Ivanishvili will manage to “limit” the role of the parliament headed by David Usupashvili, the leader of the pro-Western Republican Party which belongs to the ruling coalition Georgian Dream.
Of course this scenario could be played out, if Ivanishvili really left the premier’s positions and tried to rule the country without any official position, like Deng Xiaoping. The current situation in Georgia leaves no doubts that Margvelashvili, Georgian Dream’s candidate, will win the presidential elections. Ivanishvili predicts his victory as well. At the same time, Ivanishvili strictly stated that the former ruling party United National Movement had no chance for a success, even for the second place.
Despite the seemingly obvious predetermination, a sensation shouldn’t be excluded, and not only because the authorities promise to conduct absolutely free elections. Considering the political kitchen of modern Georgia, presence of some behind-the-scene scenarios is quite possible. So, the idea that the elections could be won by some other candidate doesn’t sound absolutely nonsense. For example, the winner could be the former speaker of the parliament Nino Burdzhanadze.
She is more popular politician than Margvelashvili. She is very experienced. Burdzhanadze is a vigorous opponent of Saakashvili. She is well-known in the international arena. Considering the still difficult relations between Russia and Georgia, it is important that Russian President Vladimir Putin has met her. At the same time, Burdzhanadze is acceptable for the West.
