Georgian president admits electoral defeat

Georgia's pro-western president Mikheil Saakashvili conceded defeat to a coalition led by businessman and billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, according to a government spokesperson.

Sergei Kapanadze the deputy foreign minister, said Saakashvili promised that his United National Movement would work with the Gerogian Dream alliance which has won a majority in the 150 member Georgian legislature,

Lorne Cramer, president of the International Republican Institute, a U.S.-funded institute in support of democracy, said that the election commission could be relied upon. Politics is quite polarized in Georgia and some worry that not everyone will remain calm upon hearing the results.

Saakashvili was brought into power nine years ago in the Rose Revolution. Constitutional changes will give more power to parliament and less to the president when Saakashvili's term ends in 2013.

Thomas de Waal, a Georgia expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, said:

"The prime minister will be chosen by parliament, which thus hands important powers to whichever political force obtains a majority in parliament in the ... elections,"

While Saakashvili has been praised and supported in the U.S. and Europe for his economic reforms, critics say that reform is superficial and that the president and his associates have too much control over the system. The opposition complained that they were often harassed and denied access to media during the campaign. Capitalizing on Ivanishvili's wealth, the president called him "the big money guy" who wants to "buy the whole system". Saakashvili also claimed that Russia was behind his candidacy and said:

"We know what Russian money is all about. How it was made, what kind of methods were used, and certainly it is a source of concern."

Ivanishvili did make his money in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union but left Russia when Putin came to power. He is Georgia's richest person with an estimated fortune of about $6.4 billion. Ivanishvili claims to have sold all his Russian assets. He also claims that Russia did not want him in power and in fact wanted him destroyed.

A shocking video of abuse of prisoners in a Georgia prison helped tilt the electoral balance toward the opposition in the last days of the campaign. The opposition claimed that the video just showed the oppressive system run by the Saakashvili government.

This election will mark the first peaceful transition of power since independence in 1991. However, Saakashvili will remain as executive president until 2013. This may result in considerable conflict. When official results confirm his coalition's victory Ivanishvili hopes to be approved as prime minister by parliament.

Ivanishvili said a balanced budget would be his first priority as prime minister. During the election campaign he had promised to tackle poverty and corruption. While Ivanishvili denies any ties to Russia, he is expected to try to improve relations between Russia and Georgia and be somewhat less western-oriented. Both Ivanishvili and Saakashvili have called for people to be calm and accept the results of the election.

Georgians protest prisoner abuse.

The protests arose after graphic videos were published showing guards kicking and abusing prisoners. There is an election on October 1 and this scandal could hurt the chances of re-election for the pro-Western Saakashvili government.

On Friday (Sept.21) thousands rallied to demand that top officials who were fired be charged and punished as well after a prison abuse scandal. President Saakashvili immediately tried to control the damage by firing his interior minister as well as the minister in charge of penitentiaries. He also moved some prison personnel to different prisons. However rallies went on for a third day. No doubt the opposition sees a golden opportunity to attack the government.

The main opposition party leader Bidzina Ivanishvili is cautioning his own supporters about taking the battle to the streets. The multibillionaire politician fears a government crackdown on protests could derail the electoral process and prevent the opposition from gaining a victory. If the opposition wins then Ivanishvili would become prime minister next year. Under recent reforms power has been shifted from the president to the parliament and prime minister.

The Saakashvili government claims that the opposition deliberately waited until the final weeks of the election campaign to release the videos. One of the TV channels that showed the videos is owned by Ivanishvili. Both sides say they are committed to a peaceful election process going ahead. A leading member of Invishvili's Georgian Dream coalition said:

"Elections must be held in a quiet environment. Let people express their opinion at the polls."

Many students involved in the protests have stopped protesting at least until after the vote. However many hundreds of demonstrators rallied outside the Gidani prison in the capital Tbilsi. This is the prison where the abuses were filmed.

The European Union has urged the Gerogian government to punish those involved in the abuse. Catherine Ashton, EU foreign policy head, said that she was "appalled by the shocking footage of abuses committed against inmates in Gldani prison." She continued:

"It is of vital importance that these and other incidents are thoroughly and transparently investigated and that those responsible are held to account."

A spokesperson for the UN human rights office in Geneva, Rupert Colville, urged the Georgian authorities to quickly and impartially investigate all the cases of abuse and ensure that Georgian prisons and detention centers were managed in line with international standards and human rights. In just over a week Georgians will find out whether this abuse has managed to help put the Georgian opposition in power.

Russia-Georgia relations improving

Russia and Georgia have already repaired relations to some extent. The two countries are now prepared for a visa-free relationship between the two countries. Russia would like to go further and restore full diplomatic relations.

Anyone visiting Georgia from Russia for less than 90 days will be able to enter without a visa. Aleksandr Lukashevich of the Russian Foreign Ministry said:"We also suggest restoring diplomatic ties between our countries,"

However, President Saakashvili of Georgia said that diplomatic relations could be repaired only when Russia withdrew recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. This is quite unlikely to happen.

In August 2008 Georgia tried to reassert control over South Ossetia and Russia came to the defence of the enclave. Subsequently Russia recognised both South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent countries even though few other countries have followed suit. Switzerland represents Georgian interests in Russia at present. In spite of the lack of full diplomatic relations it would seem that there is some thawing of the tension between Georgia and Russia. No doubt commercial interests will cheer the thaw and it will also will encourage more tourist visits between the two countries. For more see this article.