Opposition Meets to Discuss Tactics
A group of leading non-parliamentary opposition leaders gathered on October 14 to exchange views and to lay out their vision on their future tactics.
After the meeting, which was organized by a public movement, Defend Georgia, led by Levan Gachechiladze, politicians were saying that mainly two differing positions had been identified at the meeting with one group of parties pushing for the need to run in the local elections and another one being against of that.
“Mainly two ways have been put forth – one more radical, involving street protests and another way implying going through elections and improving electoral environment,” Levan Gachechiladze said.
But Gubaz Sanikidze of the National Forum Party said later on the same day that he had an impression that many opposition parties attending the meeting “had no position at all.”
Labor Party was not present at the meeting. Its leader Shalva Natelashvili said: “Despite my respect to those parties, the Labor Party has few things in common with them.”
Nino Burjanadze, a former parliamentary speaker and leader of Democratic Movement-United Georgia, reiterated at the meeting her position that the opposition should unit and push for the early presidential elections, instead of running in the local elections. Remarks by Eka Beselia of the Movement for United Georgia (party founded by ex-defense minister Irakli Okruashvili) echoed Burjanadze’s position.
“We should run in May [local elections] and win in the capital city,” said at the meeting Irakli Alasania, leader of Alliance for Georgia, united his Our Georgia-Free Democrats party, New Rights and Republican parties.
“If we win in the capital city, it will be an indication that change is possible and that the transition is starting in the country,” he said in remarks aired by the Tbilisi-based Maestro TV, which was the only television crew allowed by organizers to film the meeting.
Alasania plans to run for Tbilisi mayoral office and the Alliance for Georgia nominated ex-public defender Sozar Subari for the Tbilisi City Council’s chairmanship in the local elections, which President Saakashvili offered to hold on May 30, 2010, but no date has yet been formally set.
Koba Davitashvili, leader of Party of People, also spoke in favor of running in the local elections.
Gubaz Sanikidze of the National Forum told the participants that his party wanted to know whether they would run in the elections even if the electoral environment did not improve.
“We need an answer on that question. Sozar Subari was saying yesterday that it is worth of going into elections even under the current electoral system, citing that the opposition won elections in Tbilisi during the presidential elections in January, 2008,” Sanikidze said.
“We have made our decision [to run in the elections]; we came here and offered it to you… Instead of asking each other rhetorical or hypothetical questions, one would better table a concrete plan; we have put ours,” Irakli Alasania responded.
Later, after the meeting, Gubaz Sanikidze said that the National Forum was had a plan, the same one, which he said, his party was pushing for in late May, during the street protest rallies, but was not shared by other parties. He said that the plan involves mobilization of supporters in the provinces through an intensive campaign and preparing ground for a nation-wide disobedience.
“I deem it fruitless and waste of time to negotiate with Saakashvili, because it’s impossible to make him compromise through a dialogue,” Sanikidze said.
Salome Zourabichvili, the leader of Georgia’s Way party, who did not attend the meeting as she is not in Georgia right now, said few days ago that she did not deem these two views about the tactic within the opposition incompatible to each other. She said that she would support Alasania’s mayoral ambitious, but would also be with other group of opposition parties, who are pushing for more radical steps, including street protest rallies.
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