GD: Opposition Surveys Suggest Post-election Revolutionary Scenario
Two days prior to Election Day the Executive Secretary of the Georgian Dream party, Irakli Kobakhidze held a briefing, where he said that the so-called radical opposition is planning to organize post-election destabilization in the country.
"For this purpose, they have started to examine public opinion about radical scenarios by commissioning surveys, which covertly suggest the idea of post-election destabilization in the country," he stated.
As he noted, a recent survey conducted by the opposition-linked organization, IPM, features astonishing questions regarding the forms of protest citizens consider acceptable and provides multiple-choice responses made up of only negative answers.
"The survey consists of alarming questions, such as “Which form of protest would be acceptable for you if you were dissatisfied with the election results?” and the answers are as follows: “blocking state institutions”, “hunger strikes”, “storming and occupying state buildings” and the “use of physical or armed force to meet demands,” Kobakhidze stated.
He added that based on the information obtained, UNM has created a ‘Revolutionary HQ’ together with its official election headquarters, whose aims are to provoke citizens, encourage violence and turn the political process into a revolutionary scenario.
"This revolutionary command center is headed by Vano Merabishvili, the former PM and Interior Minister, who was freed earlier this year only to return straight to politics after spending seven years in prison for among other things, grave human rights violations. Despite Merabishvili saying that he is not involved in the pre-election process, the video evidence shows him sneaking around mobilizing forces in several cities across the country. The primary targets of UNM provocations are densely populated sites, such as Marneuli, Bolnisi, Dmanisi and Zugdidi municipalities, the seaside city of Batumi and Gldani district in Tbilisi.
"In addition to radical opposition’s practices of portraying their supporters as neutral and impartial local observer organizations in an attempt to sow public distrust in the objective results of the upcoming elections, it comes as no surprise that the opposition is also using the surveys as a way of trying to influence public opinion rather than exploring the actual opinion of citizens. The IPM survey only creates the suspicion that the radical opposition is plotting a scenario for an armed rebellion and that the survey is, in fact, examining the public’s reaction in case their actions are transformed into an armed confrontation against the state.
“It is absolutely unacceptable when a certain research organization is involved, and we have known for years that this organization has been associated with the 'National Movement', the radical opposition, it is unacceptable and appalling when a company associated with United National Movement conducts such research and is directly involved in developing [revolutionary] scenarios,” stated Kobakhidze.
It is worth noting that the opposition-commissioned IPM is also conducting surveys for the International Republican Institute (IRI). As stated by the GD Executive Secretary, the partnership between IPM and IRI has been a matter of concern for some time and this has been communicated to IRI on a number of occasions, the recent survey by IPM is yet further grounds for IRI to revise their contract with IPM.
Kobakhidze once again urged GD supporters to show maximum patience and restraint, stressing that “Any destructive action by the radical opposition will be robustly dealt with [and] the Georgian Dream ruling party will ensure the holding of the elections in accordance with the highest international standards.”
In turn, opposition groups deny the above allegations, noting that it indicates that the 'Georgian Dream' is "In a panic before the elections."
Related Story: Mutual Accusations about Provocations Expected on Election Day