Georgia's parliament changes hands, this time without a revolution

For the first time in Georgia's post-Soviet history, the country will get a new government via an election that has been deemed fair by international monitors. ?

By Lynn Berry,?Associated Press / October 3, 2012

Opposition supporters celebrate on the street in Tbilisi Georgia, Monday.

Efrem Lukatsky/AP

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Defying expectations, President Mikhail Saakashvili conceded Tuesday that his party had lost Georgia's parliamentary election and his opponent had the right to become prime minister, setting the stage for political turmoil in the final year of his presidency.

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The new Georgian government will be led by billionaire businessman and philanthropist Bidzina?Ivanishvili, who made his fortune in Russia and until recently was little known to the 4.5 million people in his homeland on the Black Sea.

In one notable accomplishment, it was the first time in Georgia's post-Soviet history that the government changed by the ballot box rather than through revolution. Saakashvili came to power through the peaceful Rose Revolution after a rigged parliamentary vote in 2003.

By conceding defeat even before the results of Monday's election were released, the 44-year-old Saakashvili defied the opposition's expectations that he would cling to power at all costs and preserved his legacy as a pro-Western leader who brought democracy to the former Soviet republic.

He also prevented potential violence on the emotionally charged streets of the capital, Tbilisi, where support for the opposition Georgian Dream coalition is strongest. Opposition supporters began celebrating as soon as the polls closed, and the mood could have turned ugly very quickly if they thought they were being deprived of a victory.

The 56-year-old?Ivanishvili, meanwhile, went immediately on the attack. Speaking at a televised news conference, he declared that most of the president's widely praised reforms were a joke and said Saakashvili had deceived the Americans into believing he was a democrat. He then called on Saakashvili to resign.

"I don't think our political battle was caused by any personal antagonism on my part toward Saakashvili," he said. "But I have always blamed Saakashvili for what has gone wrong in Georgia, and I can repeat that today: This man's ideology has established a climate of lies, violence and torture."

In Washington, the White House welcomed the vote as "the achievement of another milestone in Georgia's democratic development" and urged Saakashvili and?Ivanishvili?to "work together in the spirit of national unity."

In neighboring Russia, the government welcomed Saakashvili's defeat, for he and President Vladimir Putin have had a deep enmity since a brief 2008 war between their nations.

During his nearly nine years in power, Saakashvili has pushed through economic and political reforms and attracted international investment that has led to dramatic economic growth. Poverty and unemployment, however, remain painfully high.

Still, many Georgians have turned against Saakashvili in recent years. Many accuse his United National Movement party ? which has controlled not only the government and Parliament but also the courts and prosecutor's office ? of exercising authoritarian powers.

Saakashvili's campaign was also hit hard by the release two weeks ago of shocking videos showing prisoners in a Tbilisi jail being beaten and sodomized. The government moved quickly to stem the anger, replacing Cabinet ministers blamed for the abuse and arresting prison staff, but many saw the videos as illustrating the excesses of his government.

In his televised concession speech, the president said there were deep differences between his party and the diverse opposition coalition.

"We think their views are completely wrong," he said. "But democracy works through the majority of the Georgian people making a decision, and we respect this very much."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/-LFz5QszFAQ/Georgia-s-parliament-changes-hands-this-time-without-a-revolution

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