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20.11.07
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The Flickering “Beacon Of Democracy”
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By Molly Corso
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Reclaiming Georgia’s Reputation
Ten days after the Georgian government ordered the forcible breakup of protestors in Tbilisi, life in the capital has returned to normal. However, with presidential elections less than two months away, it is unclear if President Mikheil Saakashvili can salvage his political career and reputation.
One of the president’s first moves to restore his image was a cabinet reshuffle. According to political scientist Giorgi Khutsishvili, the decision to name new ministers – including the prime minister – was largely expected.
Noting that the government needed to find a “scapegoat,” Khutsishvili expressed doubt that the new cabinet would represent any real changes in policy. On Friday, November 16, Saakashvili’s long time prime minister, Zurab Noghaideli, stepped down – opening the position for the president’s nomination, career banker Lado Gurgenidze.
According to Khutsishvili, the founder of the think tank International Center on Conflict and Negotiation, the move is more horizontal than progressive. He noted that the biggest change – moving Education Minister Alexander Lomaia to the National Security Council (NSC) – is unclear since currently the NSC is a nominally “weak” institution.
“Before a presidential election, when there is a complicated political situation in the country, it is expected that the president would make some change in the government,” he said. “That doesn’t mean the president is changing teams.”
The move also underscores Saakashvili’s confidence in his electoral victory; according to news reports, he said “more serious changes” to the cabinet will take place after the January 5 elections. Local analysts have also expressed doubt that any opposition candidate can successfully compete against Saakashvili. According to political scientist Khatuna Lagazidze, the only way the united opposition candidate, Levan Gachechiladze, has a chance is if the elections are decided in a second round of voting.
In the meantime, Saakashvili has already started his political campaign. According to the constitution, he has to resign as president at least 45 days before the elections in order to be eligible to run as a candidate.
The opposition has also chosen several candidates: Gachechiladze from the united opposition, Davit Gamkrelidze from the New Rights, Shalva Natelashvili from the Labor Party and Gia Maisashvili from the Future Party.
Although Saakashvili’s decision to hold emergency presidential elections has been applauded by the international community and his supporters, the government has very little time to insure transparent and democratic elections. One of the biggest challenges for the opposition is the fact that the government closed the only pro-opposition, America-owned television station, Imedi, on November 7, pending a possible criminal case.
According to Deputy Prosecutor General Nika Gvaramia, the accusations, which include plans for an alleged “illegal army,” are directed against Badri Patarkatsishvili, not the television station itself, which can reopen if it provides “guarantees” that it is operating independently of Patarkatsishvili, a tycoon who has funded the recent opposition protests. However, station officials reported on Monday, November 19, that they have not received any such offers from the government.
The Georgian government forcibly shut down Imedi television and ordered all traditional broadcast media – with the exception of state-owned television and radio stations – to stop news broadcasts under the state of emergency on November 7. Internet sites and print newspapers were allowed to operate as usual, but the vast majority of the country depends on television to receive information.
While officials announced that the state of emergency will be lifted November 16, the fate of pro-opposition television station Imedi is far from clear. On November 14, the Tbilisi City Court ruled to suspend the television company’s broadcast license and freeze its assets. According to the Prosecutor General’s office, the station is still controlled by the Georgian billionaire-turned-opposition-financier Badri Patarkatsishvili. According to the station’s management, it is wholly operated by News Corp, Rupert Murdoch’s media conglomerate.
The government contends that the station was adding and abetting Patarkatsishvili’s alleged plot to overthrow the state. However, officials from News Corp. have denied the charges as “ludicrous.”
“News Corp. accepted total management control of the station on October 31, 2007; to accuse Imedi is to accuse News Corp,” Martin Pompadur, the executive vice-president of News Corp. was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse on November 14. “To allege that News Corp. is involved in a Russian-backed coup in Georgia is beyond ludicrous.”
News Corp. has pledged to fight the case in court, but its Tbilisi-based CEO, Lewis Robertson, noted that it could take “months” to make it through the judicial system, effectively shutting the station down for the whole presidential election campaign.
According to local analysts and opposition leaders, if Imedi is not allowed to operate during the campaign season, the opposition candidates will not be able to compete. While there are nominally half a dozen television stations operating in the country, there are only three with national-wide coverage: Imedi, Rustavi 2 and the state-owned First Channel.
Gia Nodia, a political scientist, maintains that even if Rustavi 2 is allowed to broadcast news, the opposition will be at a disadvantage since Imedi was the only station immune to any “behind-the-scenes” influence from the government.
“Without them [Imedi] we have a very one-sided media. Around 80 percent of the newspapers are anti-government, but television is the most important thing,” he said. “That would de facto mean the state’s control of the situation. That is a big problem.”
While Nodia said the government has some foundation for its case against Imedi, it must present “convincing” evidence to back it up.
Opposition leaders like David Usupashvili from the Republican Party argue that without Imedi, the president’s decision to hold elections is nothing more than a “show.”
Although the international community has applauded Saakashvili’s decision to hold emergency presidential elections and a parallel, binding plebiscite on parliamentary elections, his bid to save his democratic reputation might fail if the united opposition refuses to participate in the elections.
On Friday, Saakashvili told journalists that the election would be held within the “framework” of European standards. He stressed that Georgia is an “organized, democratic and peaceful” country. However some opposition parties maintain the current election code gives the government an unfair advantage.
Davitashvili and other opposition leaders from the united opposition (which includes some of the country’s major political parties like the Republican Party, Conservative Party, People’s Party, Kartuli Dasi, and Georgia’s Way) have threatened to walk away from the elections if the government does not agree to three demands: reopening Imedi television station, stopping the alleged persecution of opposition supporters, and creating a Central Election Commission based on parity, not popularity.
They vow to return to the streets in demonstrations starting Sunday, November 25, if their demands are not met.
The government is currently offering a compromise: the opposition will receive representation on the national level, but not all opposition parties will qualify for representation on the district level. While two opposition parties, the New Rights and the Industrialists – neither of which participated in the recent protests – have backed the deal, the Conservative and Republican parties have vowed to fight it.
According to Tina Khidasheli, a leading politician in the Republican Party, there has been “no compromise” on the principal issues. The president maintains that the law gives the opposition “guarantees” for a free election.
Representatives from the international community, including the American diplomat Matthew Bryza, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, have stressed that transparent and open elections are the key to Georgia reclaiming its reputation as the “beacon of democracy.” |
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