The embattled President of Georgia stunned his opponents yesterday by calling a snap election a day after he imposed emergency rule in a crackdown on anti-government protests.
Mikhail Saakashvili declared that he would run in new presidential elections on January 5 “to receive the trust of the people”. Elections were not due until next November but the President threw down the gauntlet to his opponents in a dramatic televised address, saying: “You wanted elections early. Have them even earlier.”
He acted to defuse the most serious crisis in the country since he swept to power in the Rose Revolution of 2003 as he faced international condemnation for declaring a nationwide state of emergency. He has banned demonstrations for 15 days and ordered independent television stations not to broadcast news reports. President Saakashvili justified the measures as a response to a Russian-inspired coup attempt after riot police fired teargas and rubber bullets and used water cannon on thousands of protesters in Tbilisi, the capital, on Wednesday. Almost 600 people needed hospital treatment and troops were out in force again yesterday to prevent further protests.
Prosecutors placed two opposition leaders, Tsotne Gamsakhurdia and Shalva Natelashvili, on the wanted list last night after accusing them of conspiring with Russian special services to overthrow the Government. Mr Gamsakhurdia’s father, Zviad, was independent Georgia’s first President.
France called the restrictions unacceptable and Nato, which Georgia aspires to join, said that the imposition of emergency rule was “not in line with Euro-Atlantic values”.
The United States, which has supported President Saakashvili financially, welcomed the early elections. But the State Department also urged him to lift the state of emergency quickly. President Saakashvili said that he would lift the restrictions within days because the situation in Georgia had become calmer.
Russia responded to Mr Saakashvili’s expulsion of three of its diplomats from Tbilisi by ordering three Georgian envoys to leave Moscow. The Foreign Ministry denied any Russian involvement.
President Saakashvili’s decision to call an early election is an attempt to repair the damage done to Georgia’s image. He has sought to present the country as a beacon of democracy among former Soviet states as he tries to lead the Caucasus republic away from Russian influence and towards membership of the EU and Nato.
The street clashes came at the end of six days of demonstrations by opposition parties calling for early parliamentary elections and the President’s resignation. They accused him of corruption and authoritarian rule. One former minister claimed that the President had ordered political assassinations. President Saakashvili has denied the allegations vigorously.
He sought to placate the opposition by offering a referendum yesterday alongside the presidential poll to set a date for parliamentary elections. He had shifted the elections from April to coincide with November’s presidential poll, ostensibly to save money. Opposition parties were demanding that the election be restored to April.
