By Spartak Zhidkov, Sukhumi, exclusively to VK
Two bright political events occurred in Abkhazia after the intense parliamentary campaign: the appointment of the new parliamentary management and the arrest of suspects in the attempt on President Anquab’s life undertaken on February 22.
The new parliamentary speaker, Valriy Bgbanba, isn’t a well known figure in the world of big politics, and he was never a public activist. So why was he chosen for this responsible position? Back in 2011, despite all rumors of a split in the government, the President used his constitutional right to form the cabinet he wanted, without resorting to creating a coalition government. After that, on the eve of the parliamentary elections the opposition (the ex supporters of candidates Khajimba and Shamba) hoped that the population will vote in protest so didn’t organize any aggressive campaigning. The new majority system allowed the opposition to win a considerable number of parliamentary sits as well as to knock out some notable ex-supporters of Bagapsh who pledged their allegiance to the new government. However, the most surprising thing about this campaign was complete unpredictability of the voters, who supported not the candidates the experts expected them to.
In the 1990s and 2000s, the presidential elections were deemed to be the most important ones. Despite the wide range of powers the Abkhaz constitution grants the President, it also gives the Parliament a great number of opportunities to influence the head of the republic. However, it was only the campaign of 2007 to become the first one when the opposition decided to counteract the power by ‘taking over’ the Parliament. There was a president of such an ‘opposition parliament’, supporting Anquab and Bagapsh, in 2002, but it passed unnoticed by the expert community, and in 2004, as a new President was elected, the Parliament and the President became allies again. Today the ‘opposition parliament’ strategy is the last best hope of Khajimba supporters.
However, it became clear even after the first round that this time the opposition won’t be able to win the parliamentary majority. So they had to stake on the second round, when the potential speaker candidates were being elected. Their intention was to get their leader, Raul Khajimba, elected as the speaker. However, the present Parliament, despite noticeable presence of opposition forces, is predominated by figures at least not hostile to the President, the major part of which was chosen by provincial residents who want stability and resolution of their everyday problems. From the very beginning he possibility of Khajimba becoming the speaker was slim at best, however, some experts predicted that it is the way things would turn out.
In reality, Valeriy Bganba, 58, elected from the economically important Gagra region assumed the office by gaining 21 votes of 34 (Khajimba won only 11 votes). He has previously occupied some key positions in the administration of his native region. He has always avoided political clashes and is most known for his achievements in boosting the region’s economy. It is interesting that the experts still can’t say whether he is a partisan or an opponent of the President.
Bganba could be named a ‘weak compromise figure’, but he was elected in the first round, just like Khajimba, which proves his popularity at least among the people of his own region. And he is the only current MP who was also a member of the so-called ‘golden Parliament’ of 1991-1996 which operated in the epoch of the state’s fight for independence. Three of the country’s Presidents were members of this parliament. That (and the fact that he is the first speaker to be elected from the Gagara region) makes Bganba a solid opponent for Khajimba. Despite the dismay of the latter, Bganba pointed out that the present MPs are not the people easily to be pressured by anyone, including the President.
Khajiimba refused to participate in the vice-speaker elections, which was probably a mistake as all four posts were occupied by open supporters of the President. On April, the heads of the 10 Abkhaz Parliamentary Committees were elected. The opposition took part in this run, even though these offices are not very influential in the Abkhaz parliament. However, in the end the general results of the ‘strife for the Parliament’ are not so bad for the Khajimba party. Now the new parliament is likely to go on ‘summer vacations’ showing its true potential only after the ‘warm season’ ends.
Another important piece of news was the arrest of 5 suspects in the attempt on President’s life on April, 12. Initially only one name was known: Anzor Butba, major Abkhaz businessman. The businessman has no obvious connection to any political party, so even if he is actually guilty, the police will have hard time proving his motive. However, the very fact that an arrest was made is a step ahead for the law enforcement forces of Abkhazia: there were many attempts on political figures’ lives in the history of the country, however, the organizers of these previous crimes were never arrested.
