Burjanadze Accuses Georgian Dream and UNM of Deal Making

TBILISI – Veteran lawmaker and leader of the opposition pro-Russian Democratic Movement Nino Burjanadze has rejected the official results of the October 8 parliamentary elections, saying the country’s two largest parties rigged the poll to deny her and other Moscow-aligned parties from entering the new parliament.

Burjanadze accused billionaire oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s former prime minister and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream coalition, of buying votes and making a deal with rival opposition party the United National Movement to split the votes between the two.

“I have very serious and incriminating evidence that will call into question the legitimacy of the election results,” she stated.

Burjanadze flatly denied the Central Election Committees findings (CEC) that the UNM is in second place with 27.111 per cent of the voted tallied. She filed several complaints with the CEC concerning 200 polling station violations.

“We are not fighting for seats in the parliament. We are fighting for democracy and justice in the country,” Burjanadze’s statement reads.

The Democratic Movement showed better results in the proportional elections of the Adjara Supreme Council, where it managed to pass the 5 per cent threshold and gain seats in the local legislative body.

Burjanadze, who briefly served as acting president following the 2003 Rose Revolution, is regarded as one of Georgia’s staunchest pro-Russian politicians.

She has repeatedly denounced the current government’s Russia’s policy, saying the Georgian Dream has missed an opportunity to normalize relations with Moscow.

The Moscow State University (MGU) educated Burjanadze is also the leader of Georgia’s non-aligned block. The block claims Georgia should be neutral and abandon its goal of joining NATO.

By Thea Morrison

Edited by Nicholas Waller