Troubled Union

CUG Leaders Jockey for Power Over the Dead Party

It was clear that the Citizens Union of Georgia was heading towards inevitable death when President Eduard Shevardnadze stepped down from the chairmanship in September 2001. Today, intrigues among the competing factions of the party speed up CUG’s final decay.

After Shevardnadze’s resignation in December 2001 a temporary compromise was found between the former Parliamentary Chairman Zurab Zhvania and his “reformers wing” and influential pro-presidential governor Levan Mamaladze at the party’s congress . Two leaders decided to share power within the CUG Organizational Council, a steering council of the party.

But with the local elections pending in June, Levan Mamaladze filed a court case claiming that the Organization Council was illegal. On April 29 Tbilisi district court supported appeal, thus disabling Zurab Zhvania to submit a party list of candidates for the local elections, thus virtually putting CUG off the elections race.

Zhvania has only two days to restore its right for participation in the local self-governance elections, scheduled for June 2, through an appeal to the Supreme Court.

As Mikheil Machavariani, member of the reformers’ wing, says, Mamaladze attempts to remove Zhvania-supported candidates from the race, while his own supporters would be put on the lists of the other parties, and will form the pro-presidential backbone in local councils.

Since May 3, Zurab Zhvania met Shevardnadze – still a CUG member – three times, to discuss the CUG future, as well as the current crisis. “We must find a way out of this situation and allow the party to participate in the elections” – said Zhvania on May 6, after meeting with the President.

However, Zhvania once again confirmed that he would not remain in the same party with Levan Mamaladze and his followers.

Shevardnadze, as always made an ambiguous statement. He said, “CUG will remain a political force. My friends and I now work with all the groups, including Zurab Zhvania, with whom I already had a meeting. The precondition is that the party must survive” – said Shevardnadze on May 6. How exactly this survival is possible, is however, unclear.

An open struggle for the CUG takeover started after the reformers revealed their intention to move the party into opposition to the president. Mamaladze, and his supporters, were strongly against this decision.

The “Citizens” fate will probably be finally decided at the party summit of May 15. No ‘armistice’ between Zhvania and Mamaladze is anticipated for this time, as the both leaders say that they do not intend remain in the same party. Despite some maneuverings to save CUG, it seems that the party is facing inevitable decay.

By Jaba Devdariani, Civil Georgia