Option to create a third political force

Before the parliamentary elections on October 1, 2012, there was essentially a one-party system established in the country. And this was largely due to the United National Movement (UNM). After the elections however, the political spectrum took on a different shape. The Georgian Dream coalition was added to the existing UNM. The rest of the smaller parties were then left outside the parliament, and thus their role in Georgian political society almost disappeared.

However, a healthy change has occurred in the country, which has led to a third political force. Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili encouraged the Georgian people to create a viable political force that could balance the two leading powers. Ivanishvili named several people whom he recommended to become more active; a new alternative force, which could eventually become a serious player on the Georgian political scene.

It should be mentioned that after the October 1 election, Ivanishvili stressed the necessity of having a solid oppositional force in the country. Of course then he was referring to the UNM as the opposition to his Georgian Dream coalition. However, this time he hinted at a force different from the UNM.

Some analysts think that Ivanishvili promotes certain anti-Western sentiment in the country. This is doubtful because the PM has mentioned two radically different people in his statement: Salome Zourabichvili with her distinct pro-Western orientation and Nino Burjanadze – who is sometimes labeled as a pro-Russian oriented person.

Some Georgian analysts think that it is not desirable to artificially accelerate the process and thus create a third political force which will in fact be a dummy. However, for the time being, nothing has been done in this regard. Representatives of the minor parties initiated before the by-elections on April 27 when three candidates will be elected as MPs in Nadzaladevi (Tbilisi), Bagdati and Samtredia and probably leading parties – Georgian Dream and the UNM would not run for this elections and rather give it to representatives of minor parties to have such an opportunity.

However, neither of the leading parties has agreed to this idea, but both have become engaged in the election campaign for the seats.

Some analysts think that after electing a new president in October, the UNM will disappear from the political arena, whereas the ruling coalition might divide into various factions and thus possibly create the ground for new political forces.