Victoria Panfilova, observer of Nezavisimaya Gazeta. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
Powerful non-governmental organizations and social activists are involved in a discussion of Tbilisi’s budget. It became necessary when the city administration of the city parliament failed to agree on the budget. The financial document presented by the executive authorities was called “a worthless piece of paper” by members of the city parliament, which didn’t adopt it. It is a mystery what they don’t like about it.
Representatives of the city administration, including the active mayor Sevdia Ugrekhelidze, think that the parliament wants the administration to be dismissed. If a city budget is not adopted, the laws require that the central government of Georgia should dismiss a city administration and hold new elections. Therefore, elections to Tbilisi administration may be held earlier than in other cities and towns of Georgia.
The option is reasonable. The city administration consists of members of the former ruling party, the United National Movement. At the same time, the majority of city MPs represents opponents of the UNM, and not only from Georgian Dream. There are also independent deputies, representatives of other parties, including the UNM.
In fact before the parliamentary elections of 2012, the majority of deputies were members of the UNM in Tbilisi parliament, but after the elections many of them realized that the political situation changed, and they began to change their political preferences. That’s how the city parliament appeared under a control of Georgian Dream. The tendency reached its crisis after the victory of the Dream’s candidate in the presidential elections. And thus, the city parliament began to compete with the city administration. For a while the administration managed to push through certain decisions, but when Mayor Gigi Ugulava was dismissed by the court, the advantage passed to the city parliament.
Deputies first rejected a draft of Tbilisi budget ahead of the New Year. They explained that the executive authorities decided to act in the old fashion, “presenting some figures”; they said that under UNM control it was senseless, as the city, central, and other budgets were separated only formally, as in fact they presented a big feeder for the ruling party.
Later Georgian Dream specified that “the Nationals” hoped that a draft of a “non-conditional” budget would “slip through” and be adopted, and they would share money in the old fashion, as they need money a lot ahead of the local parliamentary elections. Considering this, Georgian Dream’s resistance seems to be reasonable. If case of a victory of “the Nationals” who are not as weak in regions as in Tbilisi, they might paralyze the whole country. At least they will try to do it.
However, the chairman of the Tbilisi parliament, Irakly Shikhiashvili, stated that there were no political reasons for the developments. “Representatives of the former ruling party have to face the reality and realize that their time has passed. All we need from the Tbilisi government is a normal reasonable budget with clear expenditures. I promise that in this case no obstacles for its adoption will be created. We don’t want last year's situation, when despite serious financial problems connected with untargeted expenditures, the city administration spent money on propaganda videos discrediting Georgian Dream,” Shikhiashvili stated.
Therefore, if the involvement of non-governmental organizations and society in the process of consideration of the budget brings no results, Tbilisi authorities may be dismissed and early elections may be dated. At the moments there are no signs of a compromise.
The situation will negatively influence the situation in the Georgian capital. Tbilisi looks dirtier and less tidy compared to previous years.
