Analysts state opposition's unpreparedness to see Saakashvili as their leader

Opposition parties have refused to take part in the action in support of Mikheil (Mikhail) Saakashvili, as they are not ready to see him as their leader, the Georgian analysts interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have suggested.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that members of the "European Georgia", "Lelo" and "Girchi" Parties have urged voters to focus on the second round of municipal elections, and not on the release of Saakashvili. The oppositionists have stated that they will not take part in the action planned by the "United National Movement" (UNM) Party.

Georgian analysts have found that the opposition parties' refusal has to do with their reluctance to treat Saakashvili as the leader of the entire opposition, since he has "an authoritarian and dominant manner of ruling."

Kakha Gogolashvili, an analyst with the "Georgian Fund for Strategic and International Studies", said that the opposition parties are preparing for the second round of elections to be held on October 30, so they took this action "without enthusiasm." These parties believe that because of Saakashvili's arrival, they lost votes at elections.

He has noted that part of the opposition opposed Saakashvili's dominance in Georgian politics and the fact that he'd have a decisive vote.

Nika Chitadze, the head of the Centre for Security and International Relations Studies, believes that there is no discord among the opposition, since the oppositional parties are urging to vote, at the second round of elections, for oppositional members from other participating parties. However, the refusal to participate in the protest action is due to the fact that they would not treat Saakashvili as the leader of the entire opposition.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 13, 2021 at 07:36 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.