Be Vestnik Kavkaza
10 days are left before the presidential elections in Georgia. Today Tbilisi should hold first TV debates between the candidates. The representative of the ruling coalition Georgian Dream Georgy Margvelashvili, the representative of the pro-presidential party United National Movement David Bakradze, the leader of People’s Party Koba Davitashvili, the leader of the Christan-Democratic People Party Teimuraz Mzhavia, the leader of the party For Just Russia Sergo Dzhavakhidze, and the representative of European Democrats Zurab Kharatishvili.
According to the majority of public opinion polls in Georgia nobody of the candidates will get more than 50% which means a possible second round of elections. Meanwhile, today 47% of respondents are ready to vote for Margvelashvili, 15% for Bakradze, 12% for Burdzhanadze. The prediction by TV-journalist and Caucasiologist Maxim Shevchenko differs from the polls.
- Presidential elections in Georgia are coming. How do you in what atmosphere they will take place and who will be the winner?
- Margvelashvili will win. The second place will be taken by Nino Burdzhanadze; Bakradze will appear to be the third with his background of Saakashvili’s crimes. I am sure when Margvelashvili becomes the president, Saakashvili will run to the airport to fly to America where he will be a consultant of a Stanford fund or something like that. Because in Georgia he will face a trial for all his crimes which he committed against the Georgian people, involving them into adventurous wars, conflicts with brotherly nations in the Caucasus, including Ossetians, for tortures which he approved in jails, assaults, intrusion on private lives, illegal video recording of private life, including married couples, which is shocking for the Georgian society. I think the era is fading away.
- What are your predictions on a gap between results of the candidates?
- I think the candidate from Georgian Dream will have 15% advantage. It will be a serious gap. Nino Burdzhanadze has no real political support. She doesn’t rely either on Saalashvili’s team or Georgian Dream. She is a self-sufficient person, and her participation in the elections damages Saakashvili and “nationals” because she used to be one of them. She has a certain support of Russia, rather serious. I think Burdzhanadze is a card which is indirectly played by some forces from Russia. She won’t achieve serious results, but she will take the second place due to her old image; Saakashvili’s team is nothing today because they have lost the administrative resource. They have already lost in Tbilisi. As for Georgian Dream, they are reasonable people. They cannot be called pro-Russian forces. But all of them used to work in Russia and are connected with Russia, I think Bidzina Ivanishvili is a great son of the Georgian nation, he has saved the Georgian nation. I think so because he was blessed by Patriarch Ilya II, Father of the Georgian nation, who led people through awful events of the 1990s.
- How will results of the elections influence Russian-Georgian relations?
- The situation is changing. Georgian Dream will stand for interests of the Georgian nation. It will conduct a firm and clear dialogue with Russia. It won’t depart from Georgian interests, from the Georgian dream. I think the people are rational, who will be able to agree with Moscow without adventurous undertakings which were typical for Saakashvili. Moreover, Georgian Dream is looking up to Spiritual Leader, Patriarch Ilya II who met Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
