Georgia's United Opposition?

Recent statements by members of various opposition parties have shown that as parliamentary elections approach, Georgia’s ‘united’ opposition is yet grappling over whether to run a united, single party list or split, separate one.

Davit Usupashivili, the leader of the Republican Party and affiliate in the opposition coalition (United National Council) recently stated that within his party, discussions over this issue are soon to begin. In his view, the opposition should opt for whichever approach is likely to yield the best possible outcome.

“It is important that to ensure that the entire opposition works in a coordinated manner in parliament. We need to develop relations with other opposition forces, so that the opposition is able to form a constitutional majority in parliament and implement a constitutional reform. It is better to reach an agreement now instead of wasting time on these issues later”, he noted.

In contrast to Usupashivili, New Right MP Manana Nachqebia emphasized that separate opposition blocks should be formed according to left or right wing affiliations.

“Naturally, it is difficult to say today whether we are going to form a single coalition or separate blocks for left-wing and right-wing parties, but these consultations will definitely take place”, Nachqebia expressed.

The Labor Party of Georgia, while not formally a part of the nine member United Opposition, is also set to soon discuss whether to join such an arrangement. Labor Party member Soso Shatberashvili emphasized that while in the past, his party has abstained from such alliances, it will nonetheless collaborate with the other opposition groups on various other levels should it opt out of any unified block.

Shatberashvili said that “We [the Labor Party] will need to call a convention in order to make this kind of decision because it was a convention that decided that we were not to join any blocks.” He further added that “As for the consultations, we collaborate with the United National Council whenever we organize protest rallies.”

On January 15, former United Opposition presidential candidate Levan Gachechiladze voiced his hope that the opposition would be able to run on a single unified party list which encompasses the nine parties in the United Opposition as well as the Labor Party, the New Rightists and other opposition parties.

Later in January while on ‘Primetime’, the late night political talk show on Rustavi 2, Gachechiladze was more reserved on the issue. He refused to comment on whether there would be a joint opposition electoral campaign and instead focused on what he held the opposition’s main priorities at that point were: ensuring condition for the parliamentary election are free and fair.

Gachechiladze further added to the discourse that night when expressed his personal view that should opposition’s demands go unanswered, participating in parliamentary elections will be pointless. He said that “If we see a repetition of January 5 [the presidential elections], the opposition should not participate in the parliamentary elections at all. “

On January 29, the United Opposition plus three other parties submitted a seventeen point memorandum to the speaker of the parliament Nino Burjanadze. According to Gachechiladze, the three main goals of this memorandum are “a just judiciary; parity in the elections administrations and a free broadcast media.”

Koba Davitashvili, leader of the Party of People which is part of the United Opposition, was recently on MZE TV where, similar to Gachechiladze, he emphasized that the possibility of forming a single party list hinges on whether the government fulfills the requirements specified in the opposition’s recently submitted memorandum.

When asked about uniting on a single list, Davitashvili was quick to link the issues. “This depends on the electoral law, the electoral code, on the creation of a normal electoral environment, that is, on whether the demands laid out in the memorandum will be fulfilled. If the government behaves reasonably and makes appropriate concessions during the transitional period, then the parliamentary list will be completed and there will be a united struggle too.”

Since the delivery of the memorandum, a first round of dialogue between the opposition and the government has taken place and a second is scheduled for February 5. Both sides held that while progress was made in the first discussion many contentious issues remain.

While speaking to parliament Mrs. Burjanadze expressed optimism following the talks but emphasized the difficulties that lie ahead. In response to the opposition’s demand that all issues be resolved by February 15, she underscored that this time frame is unrealistic given the complexity of some of the issues, particularly those related to the constitution.

In recent days the opposition has been focused on this second round of talks. Once these commence opposition leaders will have a better idea of what concessions they have gained and where they stand against the incumbent government. At that point, they will likely reengage and move forward on their internal, unity-related issues.