Opposition Leader: We won’t Allow Saakashvili to Govern

Kakha Kukava, one of the leaders of the nine-party opposition bloc, which supported the candidacy of Levan Gachechiladze in the presidential polls, told the Georgian weekly Kviris Palitra that the opposition would use street protests to undermine president-elect Saakashvili’s legitimacy and would prevent him from governing.

“We are not counting on the courts [to modify the election results], this is just a formal procedure”, Kukava said. “We’re counting on street protests. Whether or not Saakashvili declares himself president, he will not be Georgia’s president. He will only be the president of Marneuli [an Azeri-populated town in southern Georgia which voted overwhelmingly for Saakashvili], and may be able to return to Tbilisi occasionally. We will declare general civil disobedience.”

Speaking of the meeting between Saakashvili and Gachechiladze, Kukava said “the de-escalation and avoidance of confrontation were discussed, but it ended without a result, because Saakashvili is ready to discuss anything but giving up power…as long as Saakashvili holds power, discussing any other proposal is unimaginable.”

Kukava also rejected the president-elect’s proposal for opposition participation in the government “He can invite a couple of idiots to some insignificant positions,” Kukava said, “but I am not sure Saakashvili will be given a chance to form the government. We are starting the protests and he might try to form a government somewhere in the provinces. We will not allow him to govern or to appoint ministers.”

Kukava dismissed international legitimisation of the election. “It means nothing”, he said. “The international community is malleable and prone to act out of political expediency. They are congratulating him now, but might want to put him on trial tomorrow.”