Georgia: More Elections… And Deja Vu

This year is shaping up to be one for elections in the South Caucasus. Following on from presidential elections Armenia, and before Azerbaijan goes to the polls in October, Georgia is holding parliamentary elections next month. Georgians have already voted in a presidential election held in January, but despite obvious stronger democratic credentials than Armenia, the Institute for War & Peace Reporting reports that things seem strangely similar.

The May 21 parliamentary vote is being seen by some Georgian analysts, as well as international experts, as no less significant than the early election which Saakashvili called – and duly won – following mass protests in November.

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At the same time, a number of developments since January have made the opposition’s chances look less rosy. For a start, it is less united than it was then, having lost one of its members, the Republican Party, which is less confrontational towards the Saakashvili administration than other bloc members and has decided to run on its own.

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As well as attacking the president, opposition groups have also taken to sniping at one another – for example accusing each other of selling out to the government. This contrasts with the solidarity they displayed in the run-up to the January polls.

“Campaigning by Georgia’s political parties is built upon criticising the government, and not around political projects or concepts,” said political observer Ramaz Sakvarelidze. “With this kind of background, the opposition parties have no other choice but to accuse one another of making alliances with the government.”

Sakvarelidze believes the opposition has made “many mistakes” since January, and has not adopted the right tactics to succeed in the upcoming election.