
Opposition Responds to Saakashvili’s Initiatives
Although they have been encouraged to seize the opportunities for dialogue presented by President Saakashvili on October 16, opposition politicians have been cautious in their response.
Lowering of the electoral threshold, opposition leaders said, has been an urgent issue two or three years ago, but not today.
“The president is looking for ways out of the current situation and unfortunately, he has opted to bribe the population and the opposition – he has offered 50 Lari to the population and a 5% electoral threshold to the opposition,” Koba Davitashvili, leader of the Party of People, said. “Neither the Georgian people, nor the Georgian opposition can be bribed.”
“The National Movement will lower the electoral threshold to 5% in order to survive, because today only this party may face a problem of overcoming the [7%] threshold,” Tina Khidasheli of the Republican Party said.
She, however, also added that her party did not want to “not use the chance to engage in dialogue.” President Saakashvili said on October 16 that he wanted to have dialogue with various political groups.
In May parliamentary opposition groups demanded that the authorities change the current majoritarian election system – a first-past-the-post, “winner takes all” system and allow opposition parties have their representatives in the election administrations. They also demanded the lowering of the electoral threshold, but emphasized that the first two demands were priorities.
Pikria Chikhradze of the New Rights opposition party said that dialogue with the authorities was doomed if the ruling party adhered to its uncompromising position regarding the amendments to the election code.
Kakha Kukava, a lawmaker from the opposition Conservative Party, said that President Saakashvili’s initiatives were made in response to mounting pressure by the opposition parties.
“It is good that the process has started,” he said. “The president has admitted that the electoral threshold is too high and prices are going up… We hope that on November 2, when all of Georgia gathers on Rustaveli Avenue [for a planned opposition protest rally outside Parliament], he will admit some other problems as well.”
The united opposition plans to hold a mass protest rally against the authorities on November 2. The opposition claims that the mass rallies have frightened the government.
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