Nino Burjanadze To Boycott Presidential Elections

Nino Burjanadze held a press conference on Saturday, in which she announced that her party, Democratic Movement Georgia will not participate in the 2018 presidential elections, which will be held in October.

"I will fight with my team to encourage the public to be more active...I am going to change this power, yes, we will change this government. It is a decisive fact that society is ready for this fight, and we will stand together,” Burjanadze said. She vowed to fight to prevent the parliamentary elections from becoming “a farce,” as she called the presidential election, and from becoming billionaire politician and head of the ruling Georgian Dream party “[Bidzina] Ivanishvili’s slave.”  She also claimed to have many supporters behind her.

“Unfortunately, the public did not protest the deliberate destruction of the institution [of President]. Society could not understand that this weakened the country and strengthened the oligarch's power and it served the interests of one man and not society and the people. Today, significant systemic changes are required to save the country. The president cannot implement these changes, cannot influence domestic and foreign problems, as he or she does not have the required tools. The institution of president is a symbol of the implementation of Ivanishvili's, and not the country's, wishes. It is providing for a comfortable life for one person and his relatives,” claimed Burjanadze.

By Samantha Guthrie

Photo: Nino Burjanadze, Facebook

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