This Saturday's parliamentary elections in Georgia were held under the question of 'if Saakashvili will return', a creative producer and the host of Vesti FM, Gia Saralidze, said in the program 'Formula of meaning'.
First of all, he recalled that it was the ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili who held the constitutional reform in Georgia, due to which the presidential republic became a parliamentary one, as Saakashvili hoped to stay in the lead in a different position – and the possibility of his return to the Georgian establishment was the main intrigue of this elections.
"I monitored what they wrote and said about the elections in Georgia, and understood that the parliamentary elections have turned into a question whether Saakashvili will return or not return. Although there were a lot of parties, everybody understood that only two of them would fight: 'The Georgian dream - Democratic Georgia' of a billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili and Saakashvili's 'United National Movement'. Even Ivanishvili himself came back in the field of public media to prevent the ex-president's revanche, though he is not a public figure," Gia Saralidze drew attention.
He also pointed to the unusual uncertainty, which prevailed in the electoral field even right before the elections. "Some agencies, which monitored the sentiments of the electorate, said that before the elections, 60% of citizens still had not decided how they will vote. I think it is also linked with the fear of people that tomorrow they might come after you," the expert said.
In fact, the 'Alliance of Patriots of Georgia' entered the parliament, securing a minimum of six parliamentary seats, thanks to this fear. "This alliance was formed from the movement, which was called 'Resistance', whose sole purpose was to remove Saakashvili from power. Unexpectedly for me. the party spokesman said that they believe the Georgian Dream to be their main opponent, but then added that the UNM is the party of criminals and with they are not going to talk with them at all," Gia Saralidze said.
A creative producer and the host of Vesti FM expects that the 'Alliance of Patriots of Georgia' will support the Georgian Dream's laws in the parliament if necessary. "It is clear that now there will be a second round of voting in many places, but given the 'Alliance of Patriots of Georgia's relation to the UNM, the ruling party can always find an ally in this party," he stressed.
"I think that the question of whether Saakashvili will return or not return pushed many people to cats a vote. It is clear that people have questions to the Georgian Dream about the economy and social policy, but since the question was raised that way during the election campaign, people have voted according to it," Gia Saralidze concluded.
