Tbilisi ready to defend against opposition’s revolutionary attempts, says PM

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has said that the local opposition has no resources to develop revolutionary scenarios.

"This year everyone has seen well that the state and law enforcement structures are in their place and no matter how much the opposition tries to initiate revolutionary processes, storming of the parliament building and so on, it will not achieve anything," Kobakhidze noted, Caliber.Az reports, citing Georgian media

According to him, the respective calculations of the Georgian opposition and its partners are doomed to failure. The representative of Tbilisi added that the state is ready to defend national interests to the end.

On 1 October, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze said that the Georgian opposition is preparing to stage riots in the country after the parliamentary elections. He specified that the opposition parties intend not to recognise the results of the voting.

Parliamentary elections will be held in Georgia on 26 October. This will be the first election using electronic ballot boxes, which will be installed in 74 per cent of polling stations, covering almost 90 per cent of voters. In addition to devices that read votes from ballot papers, technology will be used to verify voters.

The ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party, which has been in power for 12 years, will attempt to win for the fourth time. Its main opponent, as in previous elections, is the United National Movement, founded by former President Mikheil Saakashvili. The parties will have to pass the 5 per cent threshold to enter parliament. 

By Khagan Isayev