Letter To The Editor

Re: Georgian tycoon to bankroll political opposition; October 30

The Messenger of October 30 quotes Badri Patarkatsishvili as warning that Georgia is "on the brink of a major political crisis." What is the nature of this crisis? Did Mr. Patarkatsishvili explain in his statement? Can anyone explain this assertion—with comparisons to other major political crises that have occurred in Georgia or elsewhere in the past?

My dictionary defines "crisis" as a time when action must be taken to avoid complete disaster or breakdown. Mr. Patarkatsishvili and the leaders of the opposition parties have demanded immediate action to enact to repeal the constitutional amendment that moved the date of the next Parliamentary election from April to November and made the Parliamentary election occur at the same time as the Presidential election and have also demanded immediate action on their proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate the practice, which has existed in Georgia for a number of years, of electing a certain fraction of the members of parliament by plurality vote in a specific district.

There may be good arguments in favor of these amendments (although I have yet to hear any arguments in favor of them, good or bad, expressed by any of those who are advocating these proposed amendments). But what I do not understand is, what exactly is the nature of the complete disaster that the opposition believes will occur in Georgia if these amendments are not
enacted between now and April of 2008?

Lancelot Fletcher
Tbilisi

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