The pro-Moscow ruling party in Georgia, billionaire Bdzina Ivanishvili’s “Georgian Dream,” is growing increasingly desperate in its attempts to hold on to power following the 26 October elections.
First, they bungled the attempt to steal the election, as foreign and domestic observers pointed out that these were anything but “free and fair”. This triggered the first wave of protests, with tens of thousands of Georgian citizens — many of them students — poured into the streets.
A month later, angered at the European response to the obviously fraudulent election result, Georgian Dream’s prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, openly turned against the EU. The government announced that accession talks on Georgian membership in the EU would be delayed by four years, until 2028.
And now, a month after that, they’ve bungled it again. Georgian Dream illegally convened a first meeting of the new parliament which only their representatives attended. All the opposition parties, which are grouped into four blocs, refused to take their seats. Nevertheless, Georgian Dream went ahead and elected a new President, under new rules. And they got this wrong as well.
They elected Mikheil Kavelashvili, a footballer who has played for Manchester City and a number of Russian, Swiss and Georgian clubs. In his time in Manchester, he played 28 games and scored three goals, and was not considered to be a brilliant player. Since retiring from professional football, he’s taken up politics. He’s earned a reputation in his homeland as being even more right-wing and more anti-Western than the ruling Georgian Dream. His own faction, ironically known as “People’s Power”, promptly declared its independence from Georgian Dream, thereby instantly creating an official, albeit very loyal, opposition. So, two birds with one stone: a new president and a “multi-party” parliament.
Among the few who greeted Kavelashvili’s inauguration — and indeed, celebrated it — were Putin and his cronies. And Kavelashvili’s first acts in office were to sign legislation that further restricted freedom of speech and assembly.
Meanwhile, the current Georgian president, Salome Zourabichvili, is having none of it. A one-time supporter of Georgian Dream, she has grown increasingly close to the various opposition parties. She announced that as the parliament was not legitimately elected, its decisions carry no legal weight. They could choose any random person — which is exactly what they did — and say that they’re the president, but that has no meaning. Only a legitimately elected parliament has that authority.
Zourabichvili initially announced that she would remain in place, in the modest Orbeliani palace in the heart of the capital, Tbilisi, but once the farce of Kavelashvili’s “inauguration” took place, she moved out. Bloodshed was avoided, confrontation delayed, and a new stage in the struggle begun.
Zourabichvili remains the president of Georgia. Many European leaders acknowledge this, though none have come to Tbilisi during the present crisis to show their solidarity. More important, the Georgian people still view her as their president. And that is ultimately their’s to decide.
In a democracy, sovereignty rests with the people. Only they can decide who governs their country. For the moment, the autocratic, pro-Russian Georgian Dream with its control of the police, courts and military represents the “organised violence” that, according to Lenin, was the essence of the state. But this is only a moment.
In the end, the sovereignty of the Georgian people, backed up by their friends in democratic countries, will prevail.
This article appears in this week’s issue of Solidarity.