In Quotes: Pundits on Opposition Presidential Candidate

The decision by nine opposition parties to nominate an independent lawmaker, Levan Gachechiladze, has come as a surprise to most commentators, with one of them thinking that the opposition’s main hope is to reach the second round of polls.
 
Ia Antadze, a journalist and independent commentator:
It was clear from the very beginning that it would have been difficult for the opposition coalition to agree on a single strong party-affiliated candidate. And it was also clear that their choice had to be a relatively popular, non-partisan figure either from within their own circles or from outside their coalition. So they selected MP Levan Gachechiladze, who is recognizable, but still, his nomination was a surprise.
 
His very first statement deserves attention: “I am coming in order to then quit” – by saying this he openly announced that his and the opposition coalition”s goal is to establish a parliamentary system in Georgia. This is why Salome Zourabichvili [ex-foreign minister and leader of Georgia”s Way Party] was nominated as a candidate for the prime ministerial post. By doing so the opposition was telling voters that they were voting not just for Gachechiladze, but for a wider team. 

Gia Nodia, head of the Tbilisi-based think tank, Caucasian Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development (CIPDD):
I think the fact that Gachechiladze is a non-partisan politician with no party affiliation, but at the same time acceptable to every party [in the coalition] was the reason for his nomination. It’s significant that these political parties, all potential rivals, were capable of agreeing on his nomination.

I think it will be very difficult for the opposition to defeat President Saakashvili in the election, because they seem so fractured. Gachechiladze definitely wants to be the sole opposition candidate, but at the same time, MP Davit Gamkrelidze [leader of the New Rights opposition party], Shalva Natelashvili [leader of the opposition Labor Party] and Badri Patarkatsishvili [a business tycoon with presidential pretensions] all have their own ambitions and priorities. So it’s obvious that none of the opposition candidates can win in the first round.   

However, if the opposition can force a run off, that in itself would be a success for them. 

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