- Title: GEORGIA/FILE: Political polarisation in pre-election concerns OSCE delegation
- Date: 23rd August 2012
- Summary: TBILISI, GEORGIA (AUGUST 21, 2012) (REUTERS) BUILDING HOUSING ONE OF 'GEORGIAN DREAM' OFFICES VARIOUS OF IVANISHVILI GREETING OSCE DELEGATION MEMBERS IN HIS OFFICE KAKHA KALADZE, FORMER GEORGIAN SOCCER STAR AND CURRENT 'GEORGIAN DREAM' ACTIVIST AT START OF MEETING IVANISHVILI WITH HIS COALITION ACTIVISTS AND OSCE DELEGATION MEMBERS ENTERING ROOM AT START OF MEETING (SOU
- Embargoed: 7th September 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Georgia
- Country: Georgia
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA9KUUAM5EP730TRSD6R6I6LTPC
- Story Text: The leadership of Europe's main elections watchdog voiced concerns late on Wednesday (August 22) over the volatile political climate ahead of Georgia's October parliamentary elections, seen as the biggest democracy test since the country's 2003 Rose Revolution.
"There is a little part of Leninism in this electoral campaign. Leninism is not to present programmes, but try to destroy the enemies," President of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) Riccardo Migliori told media summing up a three-day visit to Georgia aimed at assessing the country's pre-election climate.
The OSCE PA delegation members said that one of their main concerns was growing political polarisation mainly between the ruling United National Movement party and the opposition coalition Georgian Dream, led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who came to politics to challenge President Mikheil Saakashvili's power.
"There are no enemies in this society. There are different parties, and it is important that the parties are able to show their programmes, their ideas, their vision to the people," Migliori said.
Ivanishvili, 56, whose fortune is estimated at $6.4 billion by Forbes magazine, has united opposition parties in the Caucasus state of 4.5 million into the Georgian Dream coalition, angering the government and Saakashvili, a close Western ally who rose to power after the bloodless Rose Revolution that toppled Eduard Shevardnadze.
But opponents have since accused Saakashvili of curbing political freedoms and criticised him for leading Georgia into a brief, disastrous war with Russia in August 2008.
Georgia's civil society and non-governmental organisations watching the election process have become increasingly concerned by battlefield tactics in the runup to elections.
"I do not think that it is good, actually, for the pre-election environment to see these conflict situations between the supporters of different political forces. And I think that in this situation all sides should acknowledge that they have the responsibility first of all towards their supporters and voters," Eka Gigauri, director of Transparency International Georgia told Reuters, adding that the main reason for growing confrontation was the lack of communication between the parties involved.
The ruling party and Saakashvili denounce Ivanishvili as a Kremlin stooge for making his fortune in business in Russia, though he constantly states he is committed to conducting credible elections.
"Within the period which is left before election day, we will attentively listen to every wise criticism in order to improve the situation. Actually the goal of this (OSCE) mission is to advise how to improve the process and how to achieve our main goal, so that elections held in Georgia can be assessed as having met high standards, as meeting requirements of the OSCE or any other international organisation," Giorgi Tsereteli, deputy chairman of Georgia's parliament and ruling party member, said. He also said that it was the government's initiative to invite election observers from all over the world - and soon.
Ivanishvili has reshaped the political landscape in the country by uniting the usually fractious opposition in a coalition mounting an unexpectedly strong challenge to Saakashvili, who carried out many painful but necessary reforms to illuminate corruption, crackdown on crime and improve the infrastructure of the country.
But Georgian Dream could ultimately threaten any plans Saakashvili has to keep power for himself or his ruling party when his presidency ends in 2013.
Ivanishvili promises to boost the economy by reducing bureaucratic controls, ending monopolies and taking steps to woo foreign investors when he comes to power through elections.
"We are determined to somehow cope and make them (the authorities) go the whole way and set a precedent for governmental change through elections in Georgia," Ivanishvili told Reuters in one of his offices located in the old part of the Georgian capital Tbilisi.
Like Saakashvili, Ivanishvili said he wants Georgia to join NATO and the European Union and believes in the approach of Western international organisations.
"We had a meeting with one of the strongest organisations today, and I have an impression, I am almost convinced that it will have a very strong stance, and it will make them (the authorities) responsible for what they do," Ivanishvili said.
"We urge everyone, we ask everyone to resist them, we ourselves do resist, and I think that we have a good chance to reach October, and then everything will happen the way our people want, and everything will be fine," he said.
Ivanishvili has spent the last decade making dreams come true for Georgia's poor by dipping into his vast fortune to build houses, hospitals and schools, and the legend of his philanthropy collects crowds of supporters to campaign rallies, politics aside.
Ivanishvili and his supporters are confident that the number of people at the final pre-election rally planned for Sept. 29 in Tbilisi should determine the outcome of the election in favour of his coalition. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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