Speaker: Opposition “has no chance” in Presidentials

Parliament Chairperson Irakli Kobakhidze has stated opposition “has no chance” in winning the presidential elections, scheduled on October 28.

Speaking to journalists he said “our [Georgian Dream] support rate is around 50%, which was proven both during the local and parliamentary elections. There is a real possibility that the [presidential] elections determine the winner in the first round [of polls], or there could be a second round.”

“But in the end, the candidate that we support would win these elections. Opposition has no real chance, this is how things stand today. I do not expect a significant difference from previous elections, therefore, the opposition parties have no chance to take more than 15-20% of the votes in the first round,” Kobakhidze stated.

When in his July TV interview the GD leader, Bidzina Ivanishvili first voiced the possibility of not fielding the ruling party candidate, and supporting an non-partisan figure instead, he pointed out that having the Presidency outside the ruling party’s direct control was an asset for democratic development.

“It would be better to endorse an independent candidate if there is a decent independent candidate, but if there are no such candidates then let the opposition take this institution,” said Ivanishvili. He then added, that the GDDG majority at all levels of governance, coupled with the fact that it has a constitutional majority, “does not present us well in Europe.”

Yesterday, Speaker Kobakhidze confirmed, that the party will declare support towards a non-partisan candidate after the registration process ends on September 8 and pledged to “actively join” the campaign.

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