Election in Georgia to test stability amid slump
- by Douglas Reid
- in Health Care
- — Oct 8, 2016
A Georgian opposition lawmaker was unhurt when his vehicle exploded in the capital Tbilisi on Tuesday but five passersby were injured, Rustavi-2 television reported, just three days ahead of a parliamentary election, Reuters reported.
Wednesday's rally by the United National Movement drew over 25,000 amid growing public discontent about economic difficulties and disillusionment with the government. Only one other party appears likely to clear the 5 percent support required to be allotted party list seats.
"We don't have reliable opinion polls and [therefore] the two main parties are both claiming that they will get a majority in this election, and that could be problematic", Thomas de Waal, a senior associate at Carnegie Europe and a Caucasus specialist, told RFE/RL.
Saakashvili - who is wanted in Georgia on charges of exceeding presidential authority, embezzlement, corruption, and brutality that he says are politically motivated - was referring to Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire tycoon-cum-prime minister who founded Georgian Dream to topple Saakashvili's allies in the 2012 elections and is still widely seen as pulling the party strings.
Adding to the tensions, one of the campaign's most prominent figures has been Mikhail Saakashvili, the former president who was stripped of his Georgian citizenship after he became leader of one of Ukraine's most troubled regions.
Targamadze, a close associate of former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, now living in exile in Ukraine, was one of the leaders in the Rose revolution - widespread protests in November 2003 against reported electoral fraud in the country. Many Georgians consider him a Trojan horse for Russian Federation because of his business connections there and his attempts to improve relations with Moscow, which were badly damaged by the countries' brief 2008 war.
Georgian Dream officials say Mr Saakashvili will be arrested if he returns to his homeland.
REUTERS David Mdzinarishvili Ruling Georgian Dream Party Leading in Georgia’s Parliamentary Elections
Georgian Dream continued the reform path Saakashvili laid and this year achieved an agreement with the European Union that boosts trade and political relations.
On Sunday, unknown assailants fired shots during a campaign rally held by MP candidate Irakli Okruashvili in the central city of Gori, injuring two men.
Targamadze, who was in the front seat, and his driver were concussed but were otherwise unharmed, as the explosion destroyed the rear part of the auto nearly completely.
"We have noticed in the past couple days - that event in Gori and a auto bomb - that tension is increasing, but we hope that all the parties will do their best in order not to have a tense election day", Guglielmo Pucci, head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe contingent monitoring the election, said.
Parliamentary speaker David Usupashvili, the parliamentary speaker, was reported by The Times daily as suggesting that "the attack was a Russian plot to undermine Georgia before the elections on Saturday".
"What happened tonight in Tbilisi is not just an act committed against the State, but a provocation by Georgia's enemies to sow instability in the country ahead of Saturday's elections".
Although its 3.5 million eligible voters are faced with almost three dozen parties and blocs vying to fill the unicameral parliament's 150 seats through a mix of party lists and single-seat constituencies, the elections are effectively a showdown between Georgian Dream and Saakashvili's United National Movement (ENM).
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Objectives for regional peace and security and maritime safety in the Indian Ocean are inter-dependent and synergistic, he said. Stating that most of the issues are between Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, he said: "Let's hope things are resolved".
