Friday, June 24 2016 04:39

There are no prerequisites for former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili to return to power, as the overwhelming majority of the Georgian population does not want it. The statement came from Nino Burjanadze, former speaker of the Georgian parliament, Leader of the Democratic Movement - United Georgia Party, in response to ArmInfo's question as to whether Saakashvili may return to power any time soon. 

"Frankly speaking, there are technologies in the modern world that not always reflect the will of the majority of the population. I am speaking about media instruments, NGOs and the power that can be used in an election campaign. I think Saakashvili has a chance to recoup, as the ruling Georgian Dream Party is inefficient and weak. I see such possibility through the so-called 'Georgian Maidan,'" the oppositionist parliamentarian said. She is sure that Saakashvili has no chance to return to power through legitimate elections like the United National Movement Party has no chance to win at the parliamentary elections in Georgia this October, despite the falling rating and image of the Georgian Dream Party. 

"The United National Movement (UNM) can enlist the support of 15% of the voters, no more. The nonsense is that the UNM has been in the opposition for 4 years already, but it has managed to maintain its powerful and authoritative TV channel able to beat BBC, it has administrative resource and solid financial resources, motivation and support by the West. This is quite serious. This is a unique case. How did the Georgian Dream allowed such situation?" the politician said. She hopes the people will not let Saakashvili return to power and her party will do its best not to let it happen.  "The Georgian Dream is harmful, spineless, but not as criminal as the United National Movement," the oppositionist politician said.

According to Burjanadze, her party may have to cooperate with the Georgian Dream to achieve shared objectives, but she hopes it will not happen.  As for the rumors that pro-Russian sentiments have increased in the Georgian public, the leader of democratic movement said: "According to polls, 31% of the respondents in Georgia allegedly seek to join the Eurasian Economic Union already tomorrow. I think, this is delusion that exists at Russia's top leadership too - they think that nearly one-third of the Georgian population is pro-Russian. This is not so. First, I think, the term pro-Russia is inherently wrong. It is one thing when you want to be friends with Russia, while what they mean by saying 'pro-Russia' is quite different thing. As for the people who want to be friends with Russia and have normal relations with it, their percentage is very high, of course. Second, I think every reasonable person understands that it is necessary to have good relations with neighbors, not to mention the powerful ones," Burjanadze said. In this light, she said that rather a high percentage of people in Georgia see threat coming from Russia and urge practical steps to remove that threat gradually.
The parliamentary elections in Georgia will be held in October, but the final number of the parties to run for the parliament is not known yet. According to polls, more than 60% of the population have not decided which party to support and whether to vote or not. 
Go Group Media and JAMnews organized the visit of journalists to Georgia.